The Study Of The Temperance Virtue

The virtue of temperance plays an important role in the traditional virtue ethics,and it is also very important for the human society today.Both the development mode of today’s society and the existence mode of human beings are facing major challenges.On the one hand,the driving force of social production is increasingly inseparable from people’s desire,demand and consumption ability,and the development of society is closely related to people’s desire.On the other hand,in a sense,today’s environmental problems and changes in the pursuit of social values are caused by the unlimited pursuit of desire and unrestrained possession.Therefore,we should explore the virtue of temperance based on the needs of history and reality,and seek the guidance of the virtue of temperance in order to realize a good life.Standardizing behavior and restraining desire are important practical issues that need to be solved urgently in today’s society.The paper is divided into three parts.The first part mainly analyzes the tradition and revival of the virtue of temperance.The ancient Greek society regarded temperance as an important virtue.From Socrates,Plato to Aristotle,it was not only the gradual perfection of the polis system,but also the gradual perfection of the temperance virtue.In ancient Rome,the temperance virtue of "restraint of passion" was also regarded as an important virtue.There are also abundant thoughts of abstinence in the debate of moral desire in Chinese traditional society,including the desire to guide by propriety in the pre-Qin period,the desire to control by virtue in the Song and Ming dynasties,and the equal emphasis on moral desire after the middle Ming dynasty.The contemporary society has experienced the harm brought by consumerism and hedonism,and people have realized the importance of virtue of temperance again,through which they can realize moderate and green consumption concept and realize personal value.The second part explains the basic characteristics of the virtue of temperance in depth.First of all,the virtue of temperance appeals to people’s self-control over emotion and desire,and is the regulation of the subject’s own object emotion and desire.Secondly,the virtue of temperance contains the harmonious rational choice,which is the process of choosing based on the rational principle and finally reaching the harmonious state.Finally,the virtue of temperance means the middle way and moderation,the middle way between indulgence and abstinence,while affirming the existence of human rational desire.The third part analyzes the realistic value of the virtue of temperance.From the dimension of ecological value,the virtue of moderation requires to establish the value of sustainable protection and utilization of resources and realize the harmonious coexistence between human and nature.From the dimension of social value harmony,the virtue of moderation not only requires people to practice the concept of green development to achieve both interests,but also requires people to develop the value of moderate consumption to promote social fairness and justice.From the dimension of personal value,the virtue of temperance not only requires people to reject the spiritual dangers and temptations in the society,but also requires people to adhere to the concept of moderate demand,which is the only way to realize individual value.