The Virtue of Patience

Abstract Patience is an important virtue in many religious and cultural traditions, yet until recently, it has been relatively neglected in scholarship on the virtues. Patience is often regarded with suspicion in fast-paced, modern societies and by those who see the command to “be patient” as a tool of oppressors. In The Virtue of Patience, scholars working in philosophy, psychology, and religious studies consider what makes patience a virtue, how to model and study patience, and how to think about the value of patience across the boundaries of disciplines, cultures, and religions. The contributions to this volume explore a range of issues, including the challenge of defining and measuring patience, the relationship between patience and self-control, the significance of passivity, and the associations between patience and other virtues. Patience is considered across several religious and cultural traditions, as well as in the contexts of social justice, argumentation, disappointment with oneself, and the search for autonomy and life purpose. Although patience is not identical across the various traditions and frameworks presented, there is a core idea throughout that achieving good goals takes time and a willingness to face adversity, and there is value in remaining calm, attentive, and receptive in the face of unavoidable difficulties. However, for patience to be recognizable as a virtue, it must be distinguished from mere waiting and needless suffering. In a variety of ways, the chapters in this volume affirm that patience is indeed a virtue.