History and literary virtue system
Virtue is considered as one of the most important trait in human beings. By definition, virtue is a sense of having moral excellence, adopting a form of goodness and righteousness. It involves depicting a behavior that shows a high level of moral standard. Literary virtue system in the society has come a long way. Different cultures in the entire human history have developed different views and perspectives in trying to understand the virtue system.
Literary virtue is passed from one generation to another through various ways that are associated with literary works or other ways such as formal writing. .Embracing virtue does not necessarily mean that everyone has the same idea of it. Study shows that literary virtue tends to be dynamic across the globe. Many communities have different beliefs of with regards to virtue. For example what may seem right according to a particular culture may in contrary be a wrong thing in a different culture even to an extent that one is punished.
The historical development of literary virtue system is a concept that deeply emphasizes on how rules and consequences of certain acts have led to people to be able to differentiate between what is right and wrong in the society. A perfect example of how virtue is an important tool in society is seen in various works by some authors. Basing on the text by Virgil, the Aneid is basically more about virtue. Aenias is a hero who captures the audience as being too good to be true. He has all the virtues that are mostly treasured by the romans at that particular time. Aeneas is seen to be brave, kind, multi-talented, respectful of the elders, gods and even to the ancestors (Virgil 28). He is a mot...
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...irtue. With this concept, it would eventually be easier for one to get to know the ways of how to solve contemporary issues that may arise due to this differences.
Works Cited
Aquinas, St. Thomas. The Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance. New York: Hackett Publishing, 2005.
Crossin, John W. Everyday Virtues. New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2002.
Foot, Philippa. Virtues and Vices and Other Essays in Moral Philosophy. carlifornia: University of California Press, 1978.
Geach, Peter Thomas. The Virtues Stanton lectures. Cambridge: CUP Archive, 1977.
McCloskey, Deirdre N. The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.
Peterson, Christopher. Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. london: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Virgil. The Aeneid. New york: Hackett Publishing, 2005.
Virtue ethics is an approach that “deemphasizes rules, consequences and particular acts and places the focus on the kind of person who is acting” (Garrett, 2005). A person’s character is the totality of his character traits. Our character traits can be goo...
Cahn, Steven M. and Peter Markie, Ethics: History, Theory and Contemporary Issues. 4th Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Its primary aim is to praise and blame and it deals with excellence, goodness, shame, nobility, honor and matters of vice and virtue. According to Aristotle, virtue comprises courage, justice, magnificence, liberality, self-control, magnanimity, gentleness and wisdom that is speculative.
Contrary to Aristotle’s view that supreme happiness is related to earthly living, Augustine argues that supreme happiness is not truly found until one seeks eternal life with God. While both mostly agree on the definitions of the virtues, differences arise when one looks at their views on the ends that those virtues should be directed towards. In this essay, I will discuss both Aristotle and Augustine’s ideas of virtues and what each thinks humans should do in order to truly find and achieve the supreme good of happiness.
On Virtue Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. http://www.oxfordscholarship.com. ———. "
Thiroux, Jacques P., and Keith W. Krasemann. Ethics: Theory and Practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.
Aristotle has been notable for character, ethics which is known also as virtue ethics, his moral Aristotle has often been seen as a leading theorist because of his moral morality, and the perspective on the purpose of what mankind should do for happiness, and the wellbeing of all involved (Pagen,2008). The teaching of Aristotle carries a static characteristic, and recognizes what is rightful for the fulfillment of accomplishing the ultimate joys of happiness in society. Mankind has an individual purpose to be exceptional in all they pursue towards their happiness. The character plays a major part in people proper conduct in society, and how they achieve this reliable character is based on how they morally conduct themselves.
Mappes, Thomas A., and Jane S. Zambaty, eds. Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy. United
Weston, Anthony. A Practical Companion to Ethics. 4th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
Cahn, Steven M. and Peter Markie, Ethics: History, Theory and Contemporary Issues. 4th Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Virtue, then deals with those feelings and actions in which it is wrong to go too far and wrong to fall too short but in which hitting the mean is praiseworthy and good….
The virtue ethics approach is a theory that suggests that people are judged via their character, not specific actions. An individual who has developed good character traits (virtues) is judged as a morally good person. An individual who has developed bad character traits (vices) is judged as a morally bad person. Most of us have a mixture or virtues and vices. There are many pros and cons linked to this approach. The pros include
Furrow, Dwight. Ethics- Key Concepts In Philosophy. New York, NY: Continuum, 2005. Print. 20 Oct. 2011
Aristotle, argued that he could not judge a person on the basis of one example and wanted to look at the whole over time. Additionally he argued virtue was found between the extremes of each characteristic. Balance between the extremes of emotion was his main concern (Manning and Stroud 59). Virtue ethics requires one to strive for excellence, a process that happens over a long period of time. It includes learning about ethics, struggling with them, and eventually living ethically (Class
When considering morality, worthy to note first is that similar to Christian ethics, morality also embodies a specifically Christian distinction. Studying a master theologian such as St. Thomas Aquinas and gathering modern perspectives from James Keenan, S. J. and David Cloutier serve to build a foundation of the high goal of Christian morality. Morality is a primary goal of the faith community, because it is the vehicle for reaching human fulfillment and happiness. Therefore, great value can be placed on foundations of Christian morality such as the breakdown of law from Aquinas, the cultivation of virtues, the role of conscience in achieving morality, and the subject of sin described by Keenan.