Passions as Virtues

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche spent much of his time studying Ancient Greek culture.  In numerous essays, Nietzsche discussed how the Greeks were able to turn seemingly bad human traits, such as cruelty and brutality, into something positive.  He argued that the Greeks took the negative drives of humans and developed them in a social institution based on continual competition. 

                This social institution of constant competition was used as an outlet for feelings of cruelty and brutality.  Consequently, the continual competition and striving to “win” resulted in Greek excellence in numerous fields such as architecture, theatre, sculpture, etc.   

Nietzsche’s philosophy was obsessed with this idea.  He argued that virtues are merely negative passions directed toward a higher goal.  Meaning: seemingly negative passions such as vengeance and fanaticism can be turned into great virtues such as justice and devotion through proper direction and outlets.

By virtue of being human, all of us will deal with a wide range of negative emotions.  The real question is: how do we direct these feelings?  And, even more interestingly, how often is the redirection of negative passions a prerequisite for high achievement (or high virtue)?