Virtology, the Therapeutic Bias
We do not become virtuous by nature; we become virtuous through habit.
— Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, II.1
A complementary line of work (Eduardo Casarotto, Instituto Virtudes) reframes “virtue” away from morality and recasts it as a trainable neural-circuit configuration, built through repetition until it runs without effort or vigilance. Two neurofunctional systems anchor the model: a Pride System (reward circuit plus self-referential thinking, driving power-seeking, vanity, approval-seeking and, paradoxically, timidity) and a Selfishness System (a prefrontal cost-benefit calculus whose temporoparietal-junction “brake” fails to engage, driving aggression, addiction, indifference, corruption). Against a complete, ordered, dependency-based list of 33 virtues, with Humildade (Humility, #1) explicitly foundational, since “without it none of the others can be sustained”, the model is framed as complementary to medical treatment for organic conditions, and, for non-organic distress, potentially more durable than treating the symptom alone. It extends rather than replaces established psychology: Freud and Anna Freud’s defense mechanisms, Maslow’s account of why people get stuck at a level, and Frankl’s logotherapy. The GoDataX Human 7 suggests associations between the 33 virtues and the dimensions corresponding to the behavioral scales that received the lowest scores in the study.
Applied to this study’s own data, the eight lowest-scoring psychometric indicators were matched to a suggested virtue from the 33:
| Indicator (level) | Score | Suggested virtue | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vigor (Engagement), Vital/Etheric | 2.71 | Perseverança · Perseverance #10 | Energy sustained despite wear |
| Absorption (Engagement), Buddhic | 2.75 | Tudo Somos Um · We Are All One #15 | Flow dissolves the subject-object boundary |
| Challenge (Hardiness), Buddhic | 2.81 | Busca do Melhoramento · Pursuit of Improvement #28 | Facing difficulty as an opportunity for evolution (Frankl) |
| Positive Emotions, Vital/Etheric | 3.00 | Gratidão · Gratitude #18 | Best-documented lever for raising positive affect |
| Dedication (Engagement), Higher Mental | 3.23 | Fé · Faith #14 | An investment of identity, not only of energy |
| Satisfaction With Life, Astral | 3.61 | Aceitação · Acceptance #9 | Accepting life as it is today |
| Perceived Control of Life, Lower Mental | 3.77 | Responsabilidade · Responsibility #33 | Mastery of routine as direct exercise of responsibility |
| Control (Hardiness), Lower Mental | 3.77 | Responsabilidade · Responsibility #33 | Taking active responsibility for what is within reach |
The human body can be affected in many ways.
— Spinoza, Ethics, III
This is an excerpt covering the therapeutic bias of the instrument. Read the full article, GoDataX Human 7: A Multidimensional Measuring Instrument for Human Evolution, for the psychological, physiological, metaphysical, philosophical, energetic and remaining sections.
