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Vice is a practice or habit that is considered immoral, depraved, and/or degrading in the associated society. Vice can also refer to conduct that is seen as depraved or degrading such as prostitution, incest, or pedophilia. The term can be also be used to refer to a particular form of immoral conduct as in 'drug abuse is a vice'. In more minor useages, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synomyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness and corruption. The modern English term that best captures its original meaning is the word vicious, which means "full of vice." In this sense, the word vice comes from the Latinword vitium, meaning "failing or defect". Vice is the opposite of virtue.

Vice is also a generic legal term for criminal offenses involving prostitution, lewdness, lasciviousness, and obscenity.

Overview of religious views on vice

One way of organizing the vices is as the corruption of the virtues. A virtue can be corrupted by nonuse, misuse, or overuse. Thus the cardinal vices would be lust (nonuse of temperance), cowardice (nonuse of courage), folly (misuse of a virtue, opposite of wisdom), and venality (nonuse of justice). See: The four virtues.

The Christian vices

Christians believe there are two kinds of vice: those which originate with the physical organism, as perverse instincts, such as lust; and those which originate with false idolatry in the spiritual realm . The first kind, although sinful, are believed to be less serious than the second. Some vices recognized as spiritual by Christians are blasphemy (holiness betrayed), apostasy (faith betrayed), despair (hope betrayed), hatred (love betrayed), and indifference (scripturally, a "hardened heart"). Christian theologians have reasoned that the most destructive vice equates to a certain type of Pride or the complete idolatry of the self. It is argued that through this vice, which is essentially competitive, all the worst evil comes into being. In Judeo-Christian creeds it led to the fall of man originally, and as a purely diabolical spiritual vice it outweighs anything else often condemned by The Church.

Examples of vices

Some vices recognized in various Western cultures of the world include:

Harmony of vices

Since virtues might be said to harmonize, so that every virtue requires all the virtues to some extent, vices also might be said to harmonize; i.e. every vice requires other vices to some extent. If this is the case, the presence of one vice in an individual might be evidence of others.

Popular usage

The term vice is also popularly applied to various activities considered immoral by some; a list of these might include the use of alcohol and other recreational drugs, gambling, recklessness, cheating, lying, selfishness. It is also used in reference to police vice units who persecute crimes associated with these activities. Often, vice particularly designates a failure to comply with the sexual mores of the time and place such as sexual promiscuity.

Behaviors or attitudes going against the established virtues of the culture may also be called vices: for instance, effeminacy is considered a vice in a culture espousing masculinity as an essential element of the character of males.

Bibliography

Virtues and Vices, Aristotle, trans. H. Rackman, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, l992. Vol #285.

Sources

All etymologies are according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

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 == The Christian vices ==
-Christians believe there are two kinds of vice: those which originate with the physical organism, as perverse instincts, such as lust; and those which originate with false idolatry in the spiritual realm . The first kind, although sinful, are believed to be less serious than the second. Some vices recognized as spiritual by Christians are [[blasphemy]] ([[faith]] betrayed), [[despair]] ([[hope]] betrayed), [[apostasy]] (nonuse of [[piety]]), and [[indifference]] (scripturally, a "hardened [[heart]]"). Christian theologians have reasoned that the most destructive vice equates to a certain type of [[Pride]] or the complete idolatry of the self. It is argued that through this vice, which is essentially competitive, all the worst evil comes into being. In Judeo-Christian creeds it led to the [[fall of man]] originally, and as a purely diabolical spiritual vice it outweighs anything else often condemned by The Church.
+Christians believe there are two kinds of vice: those which originate with the physical organism, as perverse instincts, such as lust; and those which originate with false idolatry in the spiritual realm . The first kind, although sinful, are believed to be less serious than the second. Some vices recognized as spiritual by Christians are [[blasphemy]] ([[holiness]] betrayed), [[apostasy]] ([[faith]] betrayed), [[despair]] ([[hope]] betrayed), [[hatred]] ([[Love (religious views)|love]] betrayed), and [[indifference]] (scripturally, a "hardened [[heart]]"). Christian theologians have reasoned that the most destructive vice equates to a certain type of [[Pride]] or the complete idolatry of the self. It is argued that through this vice, which is essentially competitive, all the worst evil comes into being. In Judeo-Christian creeds it led to the [[fall of man]] originally, and as a purely diabolical spiritual vice it outweighs anything else often condemned by The Church.
 == Examples of vices ==