Generosity

The six-virtue scheme needs to be qualified for the virtue of generosity.

When a person’s basic needs for food, shelter, and belonging have been met, generosity is the virtuous spiritual capability. It is demonstrated by all who act with a generous spirit.

If those needs are not met, however, it is easy to imagine situations in which generosity would be unnatural, and selfishness would not be a vice. Humans need a certain level of food, shelter, and belonging as a precondition for acting with generosity toward others.