The 14 types of vices and their characteristics

A summary of the main types of vices, with several examples.

Normally, vices are associated with addictions, both to substances such as tobacco or alcohol and to specific behaviors such as sex or playing video games.

The vice usually has an emotional, psychological and cognitive component and usually involves social, health, relational, occupational and even economic effects.

It should be said that there are very different types of vices, some of which do not fall into the category of what could be considered harmful vices. In the following we are going to discover the most known types of vices..

What do we understand by vices?

There are many types of vices, since, to begin with, it depends a lot on what we understand by vice. A vice is, generally, some kind of defect, fault or bad habit that is usually bordering on the line between morality and immorality or right and wrong. Considering that morality and correctness are highly dependent on the sociocultural context highly dependent on the sociocultural contextIt is understandable that what is seen as a vice in one culture is not seen as a vice in another.

Generally, vices imply a transgression of social norms and, on many occasions, are associated with criminality and danger. These behaviors may involve some harm to the person who engages in them and may also harm his or her immediate environment. For example, the consumption of substances such as marijuana or alcohol involves damage at the individual level, especially at the organic level but, in addition, can arouse aggressive behavior towards those around them..

In English there is a term more or less similar to the Spanish word "vicio": vice. This word is used in Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence to refer to minor criminal acts, such as prostitution, gambling, debauchery and obscenity. This idea of vice has much to do with a Christian perspective on what conduct is moral and what is not. of which behaviors are moral and which are not, especially those that involve the commission of one of the deadly sins.

Finally, in popular parlance, we speak of vices as those activities that we engage in too often and with too much enthusiasm, although it does not necessarily have to involve any of the deadly sins.For example, we can say that we have a vice for dancing, for eating ice-cream, for playing chess, for gardening...

The most common types of vices

Next we are going to see the different types of vices that exist and which are the most representative of each group.

Vices and addictions

The word "vice" often refers to addictions, both substance and behavioral. These vices involve health damage of varying severity and, being addictions, are considered psychological problems, as addictions, they are considered to be problems at the psychological level.Therefore, regardless of how morally transgressive they may be, they must be treated with the clear aim of enabling the person to be cured.

1. Addiction to pills and other drugs

One of the most serious addictions is addiction to pills and other drugs, whether they are legal or not. Among these drugs we can find substances such as bath salts, cocaine, crack, ecstasy and ketamine, but we can also find legal pills as the wide spectrum of drugs that can be found in the market.

Being a type of vice that encompasses drugs of very varied legality, its use can be perceived as moral or legal, its consumption can be perceived as moral or amoral depending on which pill is used.. For example, addiction to painkillers is not seen as something as transgressive as heroin use might be.

2. Alcoholism

Alcoholism is the addiction to alcohol, which involves a involves a series of behavioral and organic changes, seriously damaging the individual's physical and psychological health.. Alcoholics cannot abstain from consuming their favorite alcoholic beverages and, with each consumption, the harmful effect on their organism is accentuated.

This addiction is progressive, since the person will need more and more of the substance in order to feel the pleasurable effects that alcohol offers in the short term. He will have the feeling that he is in control of what he consumes and that he only needs a little alcohol to "get in tune", but he will already begin to show cognitive problems.

3. Pathological gambling

Pathological gambling is the name given to addiction to gambling.The most popular games are roulette, blackjack, slots and, although it may seem surprising, lottery. In most cases, these are games that can be found in casinos, places where huge amounts of money are gambled.

People with pathological gambling think that they are in control of what they bet or that, sooner or later, the goddess Fortune is going to give them some joy. The problem is that chance is capricious, and actually the odds of winning always work against them, so they end up losing a lot of money.They end up losing a lot of money and suffer serious financial problems.

4. Smoking

Smoking is the addiction to tobacco and is one of the most socially accepted, so it is not surprising that it is also the most common vice. Although tobacco advertisements are practically banned and young people are no longer bombarded with messages encouraging them to smoke, the truth is that there are still many young people who smoke.

Although efforts have been made to raise awareness of the risks of smoking and the damage it entails, especially at the cardiac and respiratory level, increasing the chances of cancer, the truth is that it seems that young people are still attracted to smoking. young people still seem to be attracted to this vice, even if the format of the cigarette is different.The fact is that the electronic cigarette format is gaining popularity.

Whether it is because they see it as an act of rebellion or because they want to be part of the smokers, often seen as the coolest, tobacco is the most widespread addiction.

5. Addiction to new technologies

The development of new technologies has allowed people to be more connected than ever before.. These devices allow communication to be quick and easy, bringing people together who may be physically far away from each other.

But not all are advantages, since the Internet, video games and cell phones have become dangerous addictions among the youth of the 21st century.

Whether it is online gaming, chatting, checking social networks or spending all day on the Internet watching videos of kittens, addiction to new technologies is a real fact of serious concern.

People may prioritize keeping themselves constantly informed and not missing out on anything rather than attending to their academic, work and family obligations.

Moreover, the Internet is not harmless. It is through this telecommunication that the transmission of "fake news" and comments critical of people's appearance or hobbies under anonymous profiles has been encouraged, diminishing self-esteem and misinforming.

6. Vice to work

Working is necessary to survive, there is no doubt about it. However, many people end up developing an addiction to work, prioritizing the fulfillment of all work objectives before paying attention to their family or their own well-being..

Workaholism" and "karachi" (Japanese for "death by overwork") have both been called "workaholism" and can seriously damage a person's health, since they do not enjoy what they are doing while they are working: their own life.

7. Sex addiction

Sex addiction, also called sexual dependence, hypersexuality or nymphomania is the behavior of sex-seeking behavior caused by an insatiable need for sexual intercourse..

This strong need for sex, depending on its severity, can be considered a mere mildly harmful vice to a serious psychological disorder that must be treated. The nymphomaniac may risk his or her health by not taking the proper prophylactic measures.

8. Sport vice

Doing sports is healthy, as long as it is done within the recommended limits and we do not become obsessed. Sport is considered a vice when you exercise for so long a day that you leave your obligations aside..

The person does so much physical activity that, far from gaining Muscle mass or getting healthier, he or she begins to wear out his or her joints and suffer damage to bones, such as knees or feet.

This obsession can go so far that the person goes on an extremely strict diet, preventing him from going out with friends for a beer or going out to dinner because he does not want to eat anything outside of what he has forced himself to eat.

Vices of the will

Inside the legal language, we would speak of a non-voluntary action carried out in a criminal context as a willful act.. They are certain conditions that prevent the person who committed a crime from being judged as if he had been fully conscious or free to do what he did, although not without receiving some kind of penalty.

Ignorance or error

We understand ignorance or error as vices of will when a person committed an action but did not know what the consequences would entail..... He/she will be judged, but not being fully aware of what he/she was doing, the penalty will be different.

2. Fraud

Fraud refers to the simulation, dissimulation or deception on the part of one of the parties involved in the commission of a crime. The person did not perform an action voluntarily, but was deceived.

3. Violence or intimidation

Actions carried out under threat of violence or intimidation imply fear in the person of suffering some kind of punishment or dishonor, and would not be considered voluntary action in the victim resulting from the intimidating action of his or her aggressor.

Vice and virtue

The vices in virtue are those behaviors that are seen as negative or immoral at a social level, regardless of whether they involve any real harm to the person who performs them or their surroundings.

They may or may not be crimes depending on the legal code of each country, but there is no doubt about it.but there is no doubt that they imply some transgression of the social norms of that culture.

A virtue, for example, is a personality trait considered desirable within the framework of society, such as being altruistic or kind. Also within this definition would be those considered sins, seen as those personal traits or behaviors that distance us from the desires of religion, or that prevent us from having guaranteed salvation.

In the case of Christianity, the theological virtues are three: hope, faith and charity. The sins are pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth. Other virtues are responsibility, generosity, honesty and punctuality, which, while not necessarily sins, their transgression can be seen as vicious behavior in the context of each culture.

Language vices

Strange as it may seem, the word vice is also used to refer to linguistic phenomena that contradict grammatical rules or hinder understanding between speakers, both written and oral.both written and spoken. Some of these language vices are the following.

1. Pleonasm

A pleonasm is the use of words in a redundant way in the same sentence.I will go to John's house today to give John's scooter to John because John gave it to me yesterday and I still hadn't given it back to John".

This same information could be conveyed with a less redundant sentence: "today I will go to John's house to give him the scooter that he gave me yesterday and I had not given it back to him yet".

2. Apocope

Apocope is the elision of some letters of a word to gain speed or sonority.. It can occur in a dialectal form, although this, in theory, would not be a vice of the language itself but rather a sign of intralinguistic diversity.

We would speak of a case of apocope which is grammatically incorrect, for example, to say "primer" instead of "primera" when the noun is feminine. For example: "esta es la primera vez que lo hago" instead of saying "esta es la primeraA vez que lo hago".

3. Queism and dequeism

Queism and dequeism are two widespread language vices. Both phenomena consist of the unnecessary subtraction (queísmo) or addition (dequeísmo) of the grammatical particle "de" in certain types of sentences..

For example, a case of dequeísmo would be "Me alegro que se haya retirado ese deportista" instead of "me alegro de que se haya retirado ese deportista". On the other hand, we would speak of dequeism in the following sentence "He told me to come to his house." instead of saying "he told me to come to his house".

Bibliographical references:

• Foot, Philippa (2003). Virtues and Vices: And Other Essays in Moral Philosophy. USA: Oxford University Press.
• Lewis, C. S. (2005). Virtue and Vice: A Dictionary of the Good Life. USA: HarperOne.
• Hess, Kären M.; Orthmann, Christine Hess (2008). Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. ISBN 978-0-495-39090-9.