Hylian and Aristotelian Virtue

 In Aristotle's philosophy of the virtues, the highest virtue is often phronesis, or practical wisdom. In The Legend of Zelda games, there is a triforce composed of three triangles. One represents courage, one wisdom, and one power. I understand these to represent the three core virtues of the Hylian world. If one were an Aristotelian, it would make sense to make wisdom the central virtue. The Legend of Zelda, however, presents courage as the key virtue.

When one plays a Zelda game, one plays Link, a youth dressed in green. Usually, one finds oneself with a glowing triangle on one's hand early on: the first part of the triforce. This first part is the triforce of courage. Over the course of the game, one usually collects the other two: the triforces of wisdom and power. The usual progression is courage, then wisdom, and finally power. The game presents this as a natural progression. It thus suggests that wisdom cannot be gained virtuously without courage, and power cannot be gained virtuously without both.

Interestingly, there are two other characters in the game which possess the same kind of glowing marks on their hands. The princess Zelda possesses the triforce of wisdom, and the big bad Ganondorf possesses the triforce of power. The only one of the three who can be the hero is Link, however. Zelda may be wise, but for some reason, the game suggests, one cannot work from wisdom to reach the courage necessary to face Ganondorf. Power without the other two, the game suggests, will be misused.

The account of the virtues presented in The Legend of Zelda may be compatible with that of Aristotle. Aristotle's primacy of phronesis requires one to attain it be attain other virtues, in such a way that to possess phronesis is, constitutively, to possess the other virtues. But for Aristotle courage is but one among many virtues. For The Legend of Zelda, courage is the key to growing in wisdom and power without becoming a mere guide or a bully.

I think the view that courage is central to developing virtue is common in our day. The idea that what is required to be good is to have the courage to be oneself, to face the challenges one is set, to speak up, and so on, is a popular idea. The notion that wisdom is a necessary waypoint on the way to power, however, may be endorsed less often. Our notions of success have one jumping straight from a kind of courage to power, but what The Legend of Zelda suggests is that this is not the way of courage. It thus suggests that courage requires a certain kind of direction to be courage. Indeed, Link is often presented, not only as brave, but as eager to help, concerned with the needs of others. This, I think the game suggests, is part of what Hylian courage is, the courage to aid others without fear of how they will respond, whether they will appreciate it. Yet, wisdom then takes its place as understanding what others need or want, what will enable others to develop. Power then takes its place, in the same place as in Aristotle's magnanimus man, as the power to provide for and protect others.