Virtue In C. S. Lewis 'The Way'

As Aristotle stated, “What then is choice, or what sort of thing is it, since it is none of the things mentioned? It is obviously something willing, but not everything that is willing is something chosen” (Ethics, III, 1112a, 10). Leadership is something willing, but also something chosen. By making the choice to lead you are an embodiment of virtue. This thought does not start and end with Aristotle, but also with a more modern writer, C.S. Lewis. In his essay “The Way,” the second essay in his work The Abolition of Man (1944), Lewis acknowledges the a similar idea that man cannot be reduced to impulse or instinct in order to guide your actions. Practical Wisdom is Lewis’ distinction of validating the existence of morals and virtues
Choice, as mentioned, is virtuous whereas desire is not. This is a worthwhile distinction since desire is guided by the result of pleasure and pain because you have either received what you have desired, or did not, causing disappointment (Ethics, III, 1111b, 10). Either way, desire has an expiration date of enjoyment, since it only leads to wanting of more or desperation to gain more. Choice is different since you are not being guided by pleasant or pain, but by the virtuous decision of your actions. Aristotle concluded this point by stating “... choice is involved with reason and thinking things through” (Ethics, III, 1112a, 10). C.S. Lewis clarifies Aristotle’s point of reason and thinking, but takes it further by addressing the threat of these instincts being frequent actions resulting in dispassion and the illusion of a virtuous life. If man is to view life subjectivity, under the terms of other men, then your actions of will no longer be willing, but value-less (Lewis, 1944). The ideals of Aristotle’s Primary Virtues permits having success in your individual, familial, and societal life, all of which are aspects of leadership and