Curie’s principle states “the symmetries of the causes are to be found in the effects.” What does this mean for humanity, consciousness, cognition, building mental resilience, and strengthening character? We may start with the basic human perception of things, since structural virtues theory is firmly rooted in the phenomenological resurrexit theory and perceptions are at the root of all human understandings of symmetry. In perception, we have information for us to utilise toward various ends, but then within that there is a persistently mutable objective reality which is strongly presumed to be outside of the perception due to shared experiences with others of our kind. Where is the control in all this? What can be done to improve control?

Imagine a lush garden where flowers (environment) release scents or colours (information) that we smell or see (perception), influencing our thoughts (information) which then shape how we conceive of the garden (environment), which then shifts the meaning in the information to our perceptions. We shift our perceptions by analysis of the information, which then affects all information after that, and our underlying perception of the environment, so that more comes to us through this infinitely-depthful dynamic reality. This interplay is constant, dynamic, and utterly fascinating!

Thus environment determines information which determines perception which determines information which determines environment. It’s a natural feedback loop where each component influences the others in an eternal waltz. Perception and analysis are not just passive receivers. These aspects are actively consuming and producing information with selection and negation.

Kratos Domain: The Shaping Force

In the Kratos domain, this feedback loop is in full swing. Rules and their acceptances or rejections mold our initial perceptions of self and society. Picture a bustling city where street signs (environment) guide our paths (information), shaping our sense of direction (perception). This perception then influences how we navigate and interpret the cityscape, altering our understanding and actions within it.

Indignation, our fiery friend, enters this scene as a force that disrupts stale perceptions. When confronted with lies or corruption, indignation jolts us out of complacency, forcing us to reassess our environment and to move toward moderation. It’s like clearing fog from a window, the cityscape suddenly becomes clearer, revealing new paths and truths.

Perception’s Active Role

Now let’s turn the lens on perception itself. It’s not merely receptive but active: a sculptor shaping reality through selection. In this context, perception is akin to a curious explorer mapping uncharted territories. It chooses what information to highlight, what details to ignore, and how to interpret data.

Consider Honesty in action. When we encounter deception, honest perception actively seeks truth amidst the clutter. This is an engaged pursuit of sifting through the data, challenging assumptions, and forging new understandings. This is very familiar territory for therapists. Through indignation’s heat, honesty sharpens our perceptual tools, enabling us to carve more accurate maps of reality. We overturn our illogically formed personal sacred cows to reveal the truth underlying it all.

Telos Domain: Crafting Reality

As we ascend to the Telos domain, this interplay deepens. Here, we balance product and craft—a continual negotiation between what is (current perception of environmental information) and what could be (informational internal perception of future potential environment; product). Indignation fuels our drive for authenticity, pushing us to align our crafts with genuine values in aspiration. Choose your destination, and don’t take your eyes off of it. Why focus on anything else when all those other things will be bettered by your devotion and focus upon your mission?

Imagine an artist painting a landscape (product), the environment influences their strokes, which in turn shape the canvas. Perception actively selects colours, forms, and perspectives, producing new information that alters both the painting and the artist’s understanding of the scene.

The Virtue Cascade

Eventually, this indignation must turn inward, toward the history of the self. So just like the artist with perceptions shifting with information, arise reflections on how the past self shapes the present self, followed naturally by thoughts on how the present self influences the future self. This honest self-awareness is the foundation of the first virtue always emphasised: Magnanimity.

Our cascade of virtues unfolds through this artistic self-feedback loop. Each virtue refines our perceptual lenses, enabling clearer navigation through Kratos and Telos domains, and eventually Eros into greater residency with Logos:

• Honour values generally, guiding us to perceive environments while sensing what’s best and what’s bad for the self.
• Temperance restrains dishonourable actions, refining our selection of information.
• Loyalty recognises honour in others, shaping perceptions of social bonds.
• Excellence, Patience and Conservation, are actively pursued goals that continually inform and redefine environment.

Eros Domain: Relationship Dynamics

In the Eros domain, relationships become the environment through which we navigate. Indignation here is a catalyst for honesty within connections, a force that demands authenticity in interactions. Perceptions shape how we engage with others; active selection determines who we trust or who we challenge, and what narratives or patterns we co-create: our divinely granted and so tasked duty.

Logos Domain: Mastery and Truth

Finally, in the Logos domain, mastery over perception is paramount. Here, virtues like Prudence and Ethics drive us toward stable, fair rules: environments that support universal order. Willpower, the final virtue, signifies self-fulfilment within this balanced ecosystem; God’s plan, and not ours: not our benefit alone but universal and universals within particulars.

Wisdom, born of this interplay, organises experience and knowledge of rejected falsehoods around Truth. A free mind, triumphant in willpower, contributes meaningfully to society by continually refining the perceptual tools for shaping internal and external environments with integrity for greater alignment. Universal Order skips over nobody, for we can join its ranks or get ran over. If that idea makes a person angry, they were not quite ready for that truth. This is good though because now such a person would know that they should think through all the information and reform perceptions until this truth of Universal Order makes sense. The idea itself, which remains true, is not what upset a person but rather the dissonance within deriving from existential myopia.

Indignation as Perceptual Catalyst

Indignation needn’t be just an emotional response; it can be a perceptual catalyst. It sharpens our lenses, forcing us to see through illusions and grasp reality more keenly. This isn’t about mere anger; it’s about passion, clarity, and the relentless pursuit of improvement.

When faced with corruption or deceit, indignation compels us to reassess environments actively to question assumptions, challenge ignorance, and forge new behaviours which advance us instead of disable us. It fuels our honesty, eventually tempering reactions with prudence, and steadfastness in courage. Through this dynamic process, we remember ourselves, our true identities, and our place in the divine order.

Are you still mad? Good:

Series Navigation

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