What Makes A Virtue A Natural Virtue?

Some questions that I had in mind before class were:

Why is the lack of hatred or anger moral weakness? [3.3.3.7]
What is the difference between natural abilities and natural virtues?
What is the difference between natural and artificial virtues?
If having less is bad, than why is it bad to have too much? [section 2]




Thoughts after class:

So today was different, but a good different. We should have days where we all come in as someone else. Just a thought nothing more. It would be interesting.

Okay, so after being able to ask Hume, himself, questions it made a lot of my questions before class somewhat understandable. So a natural ability is something we naturally do, like sing or eat, so that would mean that a natural virtue is something that just comes to us without having to think about it or without having to cultivate it, right? If that is what a natural virtue is, does that mean that an artificial virtue is produced within a society more so than an individual? The way I am seeing natural virtue is based more on the individual because it would be difficult to find a group of people who have this ‘natural virtue’ without thinking about what is a virtue and what is a vice. For instance, one cannot achieve justice without having a society, even if that means the society has only two people. How can a person have such artificial virtues if it is only with him/herself? So I guess my other question is, are artificial virtues produced for the public good and only the public good? Writing this blog just aroused that question.

If natural virtues are things that do not need to be thought about, what makes them desirable if one has to think of such things? If one desires it, are they not thinking of it? And if they are thinking then it is no longer a natural virtue…? Or is it the fact that when one ‘does’ what is a natural virtue, it does not have to be thought about? So pondering and wanting what is a natural virtue is not actually committing the natural virtue because doing the virtue is not being done. Okay, that probably made no sense because I just got done rereading it and it just sounded like I went in circles. Sorry.

Hm, I sound a lot like Socrates. Always asking nonstop questions.

Okay, I am going to stop here because my brain feels like it can no longer function.