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The Art of Living

On Making Moral Progress

Massimo Pigliucci tells us how to advance ethically.

When Cicero (106-43 BCE) translated the Greek word ēthos into Latin as moralis, he preserved a fundamental concept: how we conduct ourselves in relation to others. The idea of acting well remains central to human development, and most of us (I assume) aspire to make progress in this domain. But how do we know if we’re really improving morally?

Here’s how to know according to the philosopher (and priest of the temple of Apollo at Delphi) Plutarch of Chaeronea (46-118 CE). In his essay ‘On Being Aware of Moral Progress’, Plutarch says we ought to pay attention to nine signs that we can use to assess our progress in practical ethics.

The first sign is rooted in our approach to self-improvement.

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