Philosophic Inquiry

* 20-21 List 5 parallels between moral and intellectual virtues. ---Cultivating the virtues is a developmental process extending through a lifetime/ Growth in the virtues is not automatic/ We are not alone on our efforts to become morally and intellectually virtuous people/ our careers as a moral and intellectual agents are enveloped in a community context/ We must work to sustain our gains in the moral and intellectual life, since regression is a real possibility/ Growing in intellectual virtue requires that we grow in moral virtues, and vice versa.---

In Virtuous Minds, Phillip Dow helps the reader understand what it means to love God with all of their minds. Dow does this by giving the reader a list of seven intellectual virtues, which can be performed in good or bad ways. Some may choose the path of cheating, arrogance, laziness, or cowardice, but Dow hopes this book will provide an option for recovering intellectual character. He splits the book into three separate parts, part one defines the seven intellectual virtues, while part two presents the awards that will come with these virtues, and finally part three provides the reader with a series of steps to reach this character.

In Aristotle's, *place name here*, book he writes an overview of virtues we need to follow in order to reach our full potential. Having knowledge of the

achieve the maximum point of virtue, self – knowledge has a central role, as it is a prerequisite

According to Aristotle, intellectual virtues belong in the ‘rational’ fragment of the soul and moral virtues lie in the ‘irrational’ measure of the soul However, they are both dependant on reason. Although Aristotle recognised many virtues, he was an advocate for the notion of the existence of only four cardinal virtues. His proposal proved to be popular in the society that he lived in, being acknowledged by Plato and other bodies. The four cardinal virtues are: courage, a virtue which ensures control in the interest of goodness, temperance, a virtue which diminishes wants and desires by limiting them to reason, justice, the only virtue that consists of expressing care for other beings. A human that possesses the virtue of justice has the ability to practise this virtue on other human beings and not solely on themselves. The final and one of the most important virtues is prudence, a logical virtue of practical reason by which we separate the good and the methods of achieving it. Aristotle accentuates that virtues are pragmatic skills and hence experience guides us towards becoming more dexterous in avoiding deficiency. Although familiarity with the vices as extremes supports us in our aspiration for the mean, the wider connotations of the doctrine is that only through experience will we as humans come to know the right pretences and

Aristotle’s believed that virtue is something you learn by seeing other people who were virtue.

The meaning of "the goods of the mind are at least as important as the goods of the body" by Russel is good if we provide ourselves with the goods for our body as well as our mind. We can not separate the mind and the body because we think in our mind that, it is going to be reflected by doing so, as it has to be balanced. If we are breaking apart the goods of the body, we need shelter, foods, drinks, and also clothes to maintain our lives. The good of the minds are our knowledge and understanding of life. In other words, we provide our thinking by learning or being knowledgeable. If we just only provide goods for the body, we can not think as a human being. For example, if we are sluggish, in which we eat, rest and perform useless

3. What is a virtue (excellence or arête) of character? How is it acquired? What are the 
essential conditions that one has to meet in order to develop virtues and lead an ethical

Aristotle found that there are two kinds of virtues of the soul. First, there are virtues of thought, such as wisdom. Next, there are virtues of character, such as generosity. The main focus of his virtue ethics lies in the virtues of character. Aristotle assumed that these virtues are learned through habit. For example, whereas intellectual virtue may arise from reading a book, the adoption of virtuous character is inherited solely by practice. Therefore, it is through a person's upbringing that moral virtues are cultivated, and it is through the habit of thinking virtuously that one can excel towards happiness.

Philosophes were the writers and critics who flourished in the expanding print culture and who took the lead in forging the new attitudes favorable to change, championed reform, and advocated toleration. They were usually literary figures, economists, or historians, they sought to apply the rules of reason, criticism, and common sense to nearly all the major institutions, economic practices, and exclusivist religious policies of the day. The most famous philosophes were Voltaire, Montesquieu, Diderot, D'Alembert, Rousseau, Hume, Gibbon, Smith, Lessing, and Kant. Religious institutions and the Enlightenment philosophes held different viewpoints and that conflict was inevitable. Churches said that humans were bad, from their sins, but the philosophes believed that human improvement was possible on

In Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the idea of moral virtue. Aristotle emphasized the importance of developing moral virtue as the way to achieve what is finally more important, human flourishing (eudaimonia). Aristotle makes the argument in Book II that moral virtue arises from habit—equating ethical character to a skill that is acquired through practice, such as learning a musical instrument. However in Book III, Aristotle argues that a person 's moral virtue is voluntary, as it results from many individual actions which are under his own control. Thus, Aristotle confronts us with an inherently problematic account of moral virtue.

There are two types of virtue and they are i) the virtue of thinking and ii) virtue of character (Aristotle). The virtue of thinking need time for cultivation and teaching and it includes elements like wisdom. On the other hand, virtue of character is a continuous thing and is acquire through practice. “The capacity of virtue is considered natural, but acquiring it is not natural”, according to Aristotle, the soul has to practice a virtuous habit. For instance, if one has a habit of making bad houses then they are poor carpenters and so is when we have a habit of doing wrong. Therefore, virtue is a matter of habit and practice. A moral failing occurs through the formation of a virtue. Here, if one is known to have a habit of doing something (say

Furthermore, Aristotle tells us that virtue cannot be taught in a classroom but can be learned only through constant practice until it becomes habitual. If virtue consisted of hard and fast rules, it would indeed be possible to lay them out explicitly in a classroom. Unfortunately for those hoping for the easy road to success, no such rules exist. Knowing what to do is a matter of applying phronesis, or prudence, on a case-by-case basis.

Over the summer, I was asked the question How does college prepare us to live a life of virtue? In a New York Times article, David Brooks wrote how there are two sets of virtues, the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. He goes on to explain that the résumé virtues are the skills one would bring to a workplace, while the eulogy virtues are things someone would say at one’s funeral, explaining whether he or she was kind, honest, brave, etc. Over the course of my four years in college, I hope to develop a long list of résumé virtues and eulogy virtues that will help me grow in this life.

To love, have kindness, be compassionate, and to show patriotism are just some of the virtues all humans should strive to emulate in their daily lives. In the field of engineering, these virtues are the building blocks for developing a virtuous career. Engineers must hold themselves to a higher character and evolve their thoughts to adjust to any situation. Engineers will continuously grow their virtues through the acquisition of knowledge in college, and the experiences they will address in careers. In this paper I will first explain the ideas of Aristotle’s theory of virtue ethics, share my thoughts on specific engineering virtues I have obtained while at Texas A&M, explain specific virtues to civil engineering, and conclude with