Virtues - Wanting suggestions for online readings
- EthicsQuestions
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 10
- Joined: June 10th, 2019, 2:44 am
Virtues - Wanting suggestions for online readings
I am curious about virtues - specifically, have philosophers attempted to rank them? In the sense that kindness might be considered a better virtue than courage because of x, y, and z.
Is there clear agreement about what constitutes a virtue?
Where are some good online sources about virtues which would help me answer my questions?
- chewybrian
- Posts: 1602
- Joined: May 9th, 2018, 7:17 pm
- Favorite Philosopher: Epictetus
- Location: Florida man
Re: Virtues - Wanting suggestions for online readings
The stoics are my favorite, and they do have four "cardinal" virtues which sort of trump or encompass all others, namely:
wisdom, courage, temperance and justice.
So, as I consider what action might be most virtuous in making my selection at the buffet, courage does not seem to be required, while temperance seems to be at the forefront, with wisdom and justice somewhere in between.
For a source, I would go to the Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy and search for "virtue ethics".
- h_k_s
- Posts: 1243
- Joined: November 25th, 2018, 12:09 pm
- Favorite Philosopher: Aristotle
- Location: Rocky Mountains
Re: Virtues - Wanting suggestions for online readings
Plato is the expert on virtues.EthicsQuestions wrote: ↑June 10th, 2019, 5:31 am Hi guys, I am very new to philosophy (as in I started reading about it less than a week ago).
I am curious about virtues - specifically, have philosophers attempted to rank them? In the sense that kindness might be considered a better virtue than courage because of x, y, and z.
Is there clear agreement about what constitutes a virtue?
Where are some good online sources about virtues which would help me answer my questions?
Aristotle also commented upon them but he gives this a different name, calling it in Greek "the magnanimous man."
- h_k_s
- Posts: 1243
- Joined: November 25th, 2018, 12:09 pm
- Favorite Philosopher: Aristotle
- Location: Rocky Mountains
Re: Virtues - Wanting suggestions for online readings
This is a great quote chewybrian thanks.chewybrian wrote: ↑June 14th, 2019, 10:45 am I imagine they have tried, but it jumps to my mind that virtues take different priorities in different situations.
The stoics are my favorite, and they do have four "cardinal" virtues which sort of trump or encompass all others, namely:
wisdom, courage, temperance and justice.
So, as I consider what action might be most virtuous in making my selection at the buffet, courage does not seem to be required, while temperance seems to be at the forefront, with wisdom and justice somewhere in between.
For a source, I would go to the Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy and search for "virtue ethics".
I would prioritize these Stoic virtues as:
1 - Courage
2 - Justice
3 - Wisdom
4 - Temperance.
- h_k_s
- Posts: 1243
- Joined: November 25th, 2018, 12:09 pm
- Favorite Philosopher: Aristotle
- Location: Rocky Mountains
Re: Virtues - Wanting suggestions for online readings
- Consul
- Posts: 6136
- Joined: February 21st, 2014, 6:32 am
- Location: Germany
Re: Virtues - Wanting suggestions for online readings
Yes!chewybrian wrote: ↑June 14th, 2019, 10:45 amFor a source, I would go to the Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy and search for "virtue ethics".
* Virtue Ethics: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/
"A virtue is an excellent trait of character. It is a disposition, well entrenched in its possessor—something that, as we say, goes all the way down, unlike a habit such as being a tea-drinker—to notice, expect, value, feel, desire, choose, act, and react in certain characteristic ways. To possess a virtue is to be a certain sort of person with a certain complex mindset."
Also:
* Virtue Ethics: https://www.iep.utm.edu/virtue/
2024 Philosophy Books of the Month
2023 Philosophy Books of the Month
Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023