Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or
Synonyms for vice include fault, sin, depravity, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption. The antonym of vice is virtue.[2]
Etymology
The modern English term that best captures its original meaning is the word vicious, which means "full of vice". In this sense, the word vice comes from the Latin word vitium, meaning "failing or defect".[3][4]
Law enforcement
Depending on the country or jurisdiction, vice crimes may or may not be treated as a separate category in the criminal codes. Even in jurisdictions where vice is not explicitly delineated in the legal code, the term vice is often used in law enforcement and judicial systems as an umbrella for crimes involving activities that are considered inherently immoral, regardless of the legality or objective harm involved.
In the United Kingdom, the term vice is commonly used in law and law enforcement to refer to criminal offences related to
Vice squad
A vice squad, also called a vice unit or a morality squad, is generally, though not always, a police division, whose focus is to restrain or suppress moral crimes. Though what is considered or accepted as a moral crime by society often varies considerably according to local laws or customs between nations, countries, or states, it often includes activities such as
Religion
Buddhism
In the
- Absence of shame
- Absence of embarrassment
- Jealousy
- Parsimony (in the sense of stinginess)
- Remorse
- Drowsiness
- Distraction
- Torpor
- Anger
- Concealment of wrongdoing
Judaism
Avoiding vice is an important theme in Jewish ethics, especially within musar literature.
Christianity
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021) |
Christians believe there are two kinds of vice:[citation needed]
- Vices that come from the physical organism as instincts, which can become perverse (such as lust)
- Vices that come from false idolatry in the spiritual realm
The first kind of vice, though sinful, is believed less serious than the second. Vices recognized as spiritual by Christians include
Roman Catholicism
The
Dante's seven deadly vices
The poet Dante Alighieri listed the following seven deadly vices, associating them structurally[13] as flaws in the soul's inherent capacity for goodness as made in the Divine Image yet perverted by the Fall:
- Seven Deadly Sins, pride is referred to as superbia.
- Envy or jealousy: resentment of others for their possessions (Dante: "love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs"). In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, envy is referred to as invidia.
- Wrath or anger: feelings of hatred, revenge or denial, as well as punitive desires outside of justice (Dante's description was "love of justice perverted to revenge and spite"). In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, wrath is referred to as ira, which primitive vices tempt astray by increasingly perverting the proper purpose of charity, directing it inwards, leading to a disordered navel-gazing preoccupation with personal goods in isolation absent proper harmonious relations leading to violent disruption of balance with others.
- Sloth or laziness: idleness and wastefulness of time or other allotted resources. Laziness is condemned because it results in others having to work harder; also, useful work will not be done. Sloth is referred to in Latin as accidie or acedia, which vice tempts a self-aware soul to be too easily satisfied, thwarting charity's purpose as insufficiently perceptible within the soul itself or abjectly indifferent in relationship with the needs of others and their satisfaction, an escalation in evil, more odious than the passion of hate
- Avarice (covetousness, greed): a desire to possess more than one has need or use for (or according to Dante, "excessive love of money and power"). In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, avarice is referred to as avaritia.
- Gluttony: overindulgence in food, drink or intoxicants, or misplaced desire of food as a pleasure for its sensuality ("excessive love of pleasure" was Dante's rendering). In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, gluttony is referred to as gula.
- Lust: excessive sexual desire. Dante's criterion was that "lust detracts from true love". In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, lust is referred to as luxuria, which vices tempt cultivated souls in their ability to direct charity's proper purpose to good things or actions, by indulging excess. Thus in Dante's estimation the soul's detachment from sensual appetites become the vices most difficult to tame, urges not as easily curbed by mere good manners since inflamed via appropriate use rather than inappropriate misuse. Hence conventional respect for the ninth and tenth commandments against coveting and social customs that encourage custody of the eyes and ears become prudent adjuncts to training against vice.
The first three terraces of purgatory expiate the sins which can be considered to arise from love perverted, that is, sins which arise from the heart of the sinner being set upon something which is wrong in the eyes of God. Those being purged here must have their love set upon the right path. The fourth terrace of purgatory expiates the sins which can be considered to arise from love defective, that is, love which, although directed towards the correct subjects is too weak to drive the sinner to act as they should. Those being purged here must have their love strengthened so as to drive them correctly. The fifth, sixth, and seventh terraces of purgatory expiate the sins which can be considered to arise from love excessive, that is, love which although directed towards ends which God considers good is directed towards them too much for the sinner to gain bliss from them, and also so that the sinner is distracted from the love of other things of which God approves. Their love must be cooled to a more sensible level.
Islam
The
Ibn abi Dunya, a 9th-century scholar and tutor to the caliphs, described 6 censures (prohibitions against vices) in his writings:[14]<
Epicureanism
Although not strictly a religion but a Hellenistic philosophy,
See also
- Buddhist ethics
- Catalogue of Vices and Virtues
- Golden mean (philosophy)
- Islamic ethics
- Moral character
- Sin
- Virtue
Notes
- . Retrieved 1 April 2015. Translation of "Vice". Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Vol. 17. Paris. 1765..
- ^ "Vice". Thesaurus.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ "Vice". Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ This meaning is completely separate from the word vice when used as an official title to indicate a deputy, substitute or subordinate, as in vice president, vice-chancellor or viceroy. The etymology of this usage derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of".
- ^ "Metropolitan Police Service - Please Wait..." met.police.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-05-11. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
- ^ Hess & Orthmann (2008, p. 209)
- ^ "Vice squad". The Free Dictionary By Farlex. Archived from the original on 2005-09-21. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- ^ Franklin, James (2022). "Catholic Action, Sydney Style: Catholic lay organisations from friendly societies to the Vice Squad" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society. 108 (2): 172–201. Retrieved 2 Jan 2023.
- ^ a b Hirakawa & Groner (1998, p. 202)
- ^ Entry for vice Archived 2007-04-05 at the Wayback Machine at NewAdvent.org online Catholic Encyclopedia.
- ^ Flow diagram leading to the deeper-seated vices in purgatory Archived 2012-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Aldus' second edition printing of Dante's Divine Comedy, Venice 1502. Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Image". Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ Goodman (2005, p. 37)
- ^ "Philodemus' Method of Studying and Cultivating the Virtues". Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- All etymologies are according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
References
- Aristotle, trans. H. Rackman. Virtues and Vices, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1992. vol. 285.
- Goodman, Lenn E. (2005). Islamic Humanism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-518914-8.
- Hess, Kären M.; Orthmann, Christine Hess (2008). Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. ISBN 978-0-495-39090-9.
- Hirakawa, Akira; Groner, Paul (1998). A history of Indian Buddhism: from Śākyamuni to early Mahāyāna. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0955-0.
- Newhauser, Richard, ed. In the Garden of Evil: The Vices and Culture in the Middle Ages. Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto 2005. ISBN 0-88844-818-X