Virtue is Knowledge, Vice is Ignorance

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates once said that, “Virtue is knowledge, vice is

ignorance.” From a personal perspective, I stand by the statement of the aforementioned

philosopher. Before we proceed on the reasons why I support his belief, let us first unveil

what his statement truly means. Socrates believed that there is no such thing as an inherently

evil person, and that the root of their wrongdoings is due to their own ignorance or lack of

education. On the contrary, those people who do what is morally correct are those who are

filled with knowledge; hence, virtue is knowledge.

Similar to the philosopher’s viewpoint, I believe that virtue is knowledge for the

reason that the virtues we possess may be taught by a variety of individuals including our

parents, teachers, and elders. As humans, we begin as newborns and toddlers wherein our

first school is at home with our parents serving as our instructors. At home, they teach us

multiple things, including our morals. Then, at school, we learn different topics that enhance

our capabilities as individuals. Our educators teach us the difference between what is right

and what is wrong, encouraging us to be righteous people, developing within ourselves the

sense of morality; therefore, shaping us into better versions of ourselves. The elders also

show us the importance of respect, a type of virtue, and a great example for that is the

Filipino tradition of saying “po” and “opo” as well as pagmamano, an act of showing respect

to older people. Aside from that, our personal experiences and hardships in life also influence

our morality as it molds us to be good people. On the other hand, vice is ignorance because

those who commit atrocious and immoral acts are those who are foolish enough to do such

things. To explain it further, one example of a vice is gambling. As humans, we have the

tendency to be addicted to anything, especially if it provides us with pleasure. In addition to

that, money may be acquired through gambling, encouraging the people to take risks in the

hope of earning more than they wager. This shows that mankind can be greedy particularly

when it comes to money which is obviously not a virtuous act. Another example is

perpetrating a crime. In my judgment, those who carry out these heinous acts are foolish and

ignorant of the consequences of their actions. It is either they lack the knowledge of what is

right and what is wrong or they choose to pay no heed to the essence of being law-abiding

citizens, leading them to be immoral and unethical. Therefore, I agree that vice is due to a

person’s ignorance.

To sum it up, Socrates’ remark stating that “virtue is knowledge and vice is

ignorance” is genuinely eye-opening, not just for myself, but also to other individuals as it

conveys the essential lesson that no human being is naturally vile. Instead, it is the lack of

knowledge and ignorance on the part of those who commit wrongdoings that taint their

morals. Virtue, then again, may be taught to everyone. As a result, in order to retain one’s

morals, every man is obligated to uphold their ideals and convictions.