VIRTUS: A Companion App for Growing in Virtue

Forming virtue can be so overwhelming that many never take the first step, much less finish their journey.

VIRTUS helps you develop a plan to see it through to the end, from your first step to each one after.



Are you truly satisfied with who you are?


We are not made for mediocrity; we are made to flourish.


Virtue ethics teaches us what it means to live a fulfilling life.


Men and women throughout history, driven to live their lives to the fullest, have contributed to a philosophy over two thousand years old, from Aristotle to Aquinas to now, called Virtue Ethics. From them, we can learn how to truly flourish as human beings and grow into people we want to be.


VIRTUS provides plans of action to help every user grow in virtue and find happiness.


The VIRTUS app is designed to teach you virtue ethics and guide you on developing the virtues, ultimately leading to a more complete, happy, and fulfilled life. And it's all free!

Learn about Virtue Ethics

VIRTUS draws from Aristotle, Aquinas, and other virtue ethicists to provide a guide towards virtue that has persisted for thousands of years of philosophy. In this app, you'll learn what virtue is, why one can benefit from pursuing virtue, and help to form it step-by-step.

Take Your First Step

It's easy to recognize you need improvement in some part of your life; it's hard to actually make a plan and take the first step towards it. VIRTUS makes this first step simpler by providing clear plans to develop these virtues, as well as the tools to persevere in forming these virtues over time.

Develop Virtues

A virtue is a disposition towards some rational act; it makes it easier to do what is right and good. By following our plans, we can grow comfortable in eating well, exercising, overcoming addictions, and so on. It will no longer always be as toilsome and difficult to do what is right; it will become easier, more like second nature. That is the goal, and that is exactly what virtue ethics wants to help you achieve.

Find Greater Fulfillment

We all seek what Aristotle calls eudaimonia: how to truly flourish as a human being and find happiness and fulfillment. Just as a pianist flourishes in their role as they gain greater mastery of the piano, we humans flourish as we gain greater mastery in our use of reason to inform our actions. By forming virtue, we can avoid the pitfalls of vice that worsen our experience in life; instead, we develop stronger character through virtues that give us lasting satisfaction and excellence.

HOW TO DEVELOP VIRTUES

A Step-by-Step Plan

Developing virtue can seem daunting, even impossible, for those who have struggled with vices for a long time. We often think it's simply a matter of willpower, as if we have to just brute force any changes to our lives. But that is an unrealistic expectation; virtue is built up step-by-step.

This guide details how anyone can achieve such changes, no matter how "weak" you feel your willpower may be.

We simply need to take it one step at a time.

Learn
Step One
1
Knowledge is the beginning of virtue. If we want to grow in some way, we need to learn: What is this virtue? How do we develop this virtue? What knowledge do we need to persist in it throughout our life?
Plan
Step Two
2
We must create a plan to execute on a daily basis which develops the disposition we want. For example: If we want to grow in temperance (eating well) and lose excess weight, we might form a plan to improve our diet gradually over several months.
Persist
Step Three
3
We must persist in executing our plan to form that disposition. If we have done our work well, our plan should be something simple, clear, and easy to execute, so if we make that our sole focus for a day, and then a week, and then a month, we should make good progress. Think of it as "my one step forward for today"—a single small sacrifice for your own growth in virtue. As you form this disposition, this will become easier and easier to do!
What Next?
Step Four
4
If we fail to persist, we try again! If we persist and find ourselves blocked, we return to learn about why and how to adjust our plan. Then, if we still have unanswered questions or are curious to learn more, we can choose to delve deeper into philosophy and explore those topics in more detail.