Morality and virtue, which regulate the perspective of life, give meaning to life and enrich the areas of service, are fundamental human qualities that confer positive responsibility on behaviour and attitudes and help to ensure respect and acceptance in social life. 

Although morality and virtue have a similar meaning, they are actually different concepts.

Morality is the awareness of an individual’s responsibility towards society, themselves and their environment by distinguishing between right and wrong. Moral values consist of principles and rules that are generally accepted in society and by which individuals should orientate themselves. Values such as sincerity, honesty and justice are the cornerstones of morality and bring people together to form a more harmonious society.

Virtue, on the other hand, refers to the qualities and habits that an individual develops through self-improvement and that are considered morally superior. A virtuous person adopts behaviours that benefit society and trains their will to uphold these attitudes. Qualities such as love, respect, responsibility, compassion, co-operation, solidarity, courage, wisdom and moderation are regarded as virtues. Virtues stand for a person’s inner development and their endeavours to rise above themselves.

While morality is based on a shared understanding of right and wrong on a societal level, virtue is the process of internalising and deeply embedding this understanding in one’s own character. Morality promotes social harmony, while virtue leads to individual excellence.

Morality tends to focus on “visible” behaviours, while virtue relies on “invisible” traits. In other words, morality is concerned with a person's “outward" actions, while virtue is concerned with their “inward" actions. For example, a person who appears very moral on the outside but behaves differently when alone may have a superficial morality. Therefore, the appearance of morality should not be misleading.

Moral evil

Moral evil refers to actions and attitudes that lack morality and virtue and are not motivated by good intentions. It occurs when a person consciously chooses or harbours the intention to commit a harmful or wrong action. This evil includes deliberate actions aimed at harming others or engaging in unjust behaviour. Mistakes made by mistake are not considered moral evil.

People who are morally evil usually avoid using their capacity for empathy. They prioritise their own interests without regard for the harm they cause others. Deliberate neglect, intentional harm and unjust attitudes are the essence of moral evil. Harmful behaviour disturbs the peace of the individual and destabilises society.

The main cause of this evil is selfishness, which lacks virtue and moral responsibility. Actions that are intentionally harmful or the deliberate omission of necessary tasks and actions that cause harm through negligence fall under the category of moral evil.

Intentional or negligent pain inflicted on people or other living beings and harm caused by indifference also fall into this category. Impatience, excessive anger, destructive passions, the desire for power and control, jealousy, marginalisation, arrogance, hatred, malice, gossip, slander, insult, contempt, exploitation, theft, lying, bribery, greed, lust, rebellion, deceit, greed, slander, lust for revenge, envy, betrayal, hatred, cruelty, injustice, abuse of power, deception, oppression and any attitude that undermines human dignity are key elements of moral evil.

Moral evil is like a virus that damages the mental and social health of the individual. However, if a strategy similar to the one used to combat infectious diseases is developed, balance, peace and stability in this cycle can be strengthened.