Strengths And Weaknesses Of Virtues

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.

This extensive perception of virtue may include such precise virtue as courage, wisdom, or moderation, but it should be possible to offer a perfectly general description of virtue as a whole, the skill or ability to be fully human. It is impossible for each human being to have the same virtue because everyone created unequally.

In the second section, he outlines the principle, or cardinal virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Justice and Fortitude, which could also be termed wisdom, self-control, fairness, equity, and steadfastness. He uses the vivid illustration of an athlete, or mathematician who practices a virtue, making a shot in tennis, or solving problems till they become internalized, a part of the person who disciplined himself to perfect them.

For centuries in literature, philosophers studied the idea of virtue to demonstrate the uphold of moral excellence and righteousness within characters. Eventually becoming a staple in Western literature, virtue can be described as the balance and imbalance of qualities specified by the philosopher Plato. He thought much of virtue, and eventually defined it according to the four criteria: courage, prudence, temperance, and justice. Plato portrayed courage as the showing of bravery in the midst of danger, prudence is one’s ability to show good judgment and to put other’s needs before their own; temperance is a person’s knowledge of when to show restraint and justice is when one gives to others what is owed to them. These characteristics not

Appiah sums up his views on virtue when he writes, “To possess virtue is to be a certain sort of person with a certain complex mindset” (401). Appiah believes that having a complex mindset combined with internal and external factors can help show if you are a virtues person or not, however; Appiah also goes on to explain that it is nearly impossible to call someone virtues without having a proper definition (407). Appiah uses the example of Schindler’s list (410). In Appiah’s example, he marks that the character was marked with both virtues and vicious behaviors and finds that simply classifying him as a virtues man is hard to determine (399).

But I believe he also said that we act and be who we are by observing the life of others and try to be a person like them even though we can’t possibly be like them. I think he is arguing that we can’t be just a man without doing something that describe our best behavior and character and to do that we observe people life, we can adapt that in our life but in different way because we can’t completely become others just by following what they do. For example heroes and saint, “ Heroes and saints are not people whom we try to be just like, since we know that is impossible. It is precisely because it is impossible for an ordinary human being to achieve the same qualities as the saints ...it is enough if we try to be a little like them.” (Mayo. Pg.315) The

Although there are several ways to interpret these virtues, Beauregard elaborates mostly on the theological aspects these objects. He relates these

On his quest to help other people, he exemplifies his sense of honor in his search for a higher truth in the natural world. He first shows this during the

In the Republic of Plato, the philosopher Socrates lays out his notion of the good, and draws the conclusion that virtue must be attained before one can be good. For Socrates there are two kinds of virtue; collective and individual. Collective virtue is virtue as whole, or the virtues of the city. Individual virtue pertains to the individual himself, and concerns the acts that the individual does, and concerns the individual’s soul. For Socrates, the relationship between individual and collective virtue is that they are the same, as the virtues of the collective parallel those of the Individual. This conclusion can be reached as both the city and the soul deal with the four main virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice.

Virtue Theory relies heavily on the character of the person rather than the circumstances in which the individual acts. The virtue theory deemphasizes rules and regulations and instead focuses on the internal character of the act in question. The virtue theory is not concerned with the intentions of the act. Nor is it concerned primarily with the consequences of the act. Instead the virtue theory relies on moral virtues. If the individual is of good character or not is the primary concern with virtue theory. What is difficult to ascertain however, is the question of what constitutes character? How can one appropriate establish the contents of one's character? A person's character traits are the compesition of his character traits. These traits can either be good (virtuous) or bad (vices). In both instances, the virtue theory establishes and emphasized these two

Virtue Ethics is neither deontological nor teleological, since it is concerned with neither duty nor consequences, but rather the state of the person acting. Aristotle believed that once you are good, good actions will necessarily follow, and this belief is at the centre of Virtue Ethics. Rather than defining good actions, Virtue Ethics looks at good people and the qualities that make them good. The non-normative theory, although very effective in determining the morality of individuals, is particularly flawed when applied to whole societies. This weakness is largely due to its imprecision and abstraction; however, before these weaknesses can be considered, it is necessary to give an account of the theory itself.

In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explores virtues as necessary conditions for being happy. A virtuous person is a person with a disposition toward virtuous actions and who derives pleasure from behaving virtuously. Aristotle distinguishes between two types of human virtue: virtues of thought and virtues of character. Virtues of thought are acquired through learning and include virtues like wisdom and prudence; virtues of character include bravery and charity, which are acquired by habituation and require external goods to develop. As a consequence, not all people can acquire virtues of character because not all people have the external goods and resources required to develop that disposition.

lthough today's society includes much technology and new things are supposedly being discovered every day, many age old questions still remain unanswered; questions such as: "Can virtue be taught?" This question is examined in detail throughout Plato's Meno, and although the play leaves the question as to what virtue is unanswered, Socrates attempts an answer to Meno's question. Although he is not particularly keen on answering whether virtue can be taught without first having a complete understanding of what virtue is, he attempts to please Meno by solving this in the way that geometers conduct their investigations, through a hypothesis. Socrates states that if indeed virtue can be taught then one thing will happen, and if it

you ask what the virtues are, it is likely you would be told that we

Another part of Aristotles' theory includes the idea of virtue. From my understanding, Virtue of character has a lot to do with our actions. It looks at what makes us do what we do. He explains, “Virtue, then, is of two sorts, virtue of thought and virtue of character” (Aristotle 18). In order to reach eudaimonia, we have to act virtuously. That is done by doing the right thing and knowing that you are doing it. Virtue of character is something that we do not automatically just have. It is something that we have to work on and practice. With practice, right actions will become habits. The virtuous person is someone who does not have to think about what the right thing to do is, they just do it.