What role do our worldviews, i.e. our understanding of nature/science, the individual, society, the divine etc., take in shaping our moral philosophy or ethics? In fact what is the difference between morality and ethics itself? Furthermore, what is the nature of ethics within a religious framework? How does a particular theology condition a morality? Here in the following space we will explore these issues and more via turning to the ancient Greeks.
Socrates believed that to gain virtue one needed knowledge. Socrates tried to get ancient Greeks to question their lives. His act of questioning makes one assume he believed in individuals ability to obtain knowledge. So, is virtue something teachable? I say absolutely but an individual must be open and wanting of this transformation. Socrates was sentenced to death because he was questioning laws, customs, and even religion. Individuals don’t like to be told that their ways of living are wrong. Socrates believed that we should always question and he said “When my sons come of age gentlemen, punish them by harassing them in the very same way that I harassed you, if they seem to take care of wealth or anything before virtue, if they think they’re someone when they’re no one…If you will do that, I’ll have received my own just deserts from you, as will my sons” (140).
i agree with wendy 100%, virtue is definitely teachable. i dont think it is an inherent quality that people are born with. i think people have to be open and willing to learn new virtues, especially those that seem to oppose the way they are living. when socrates supports that people should question things, it shows an attempt to learn something new (virtue).
I believe that virtues are absolutely teachable, and the only way to learn them is through learning. When born a baby does not know what is right and wrong, but learns from the parents, and later in life those around him/her. Thus the only way to learn virtues is through learning.
Yes, virtue can be taught. I believe that a key component to one becoming virtuous is through knowledge and reason. As Protagoras states, education is not implanted in the soul unless one reaches a greater depth. If we take out education and place virtue there, we can see that virtue is tangible. One must simply question and know the difference between what is right and wrong. Socrates, was sentenced to die because he questioned his surroundings. He also believed that virtue was something good that should be talked about by men.
True virtue can not be taught because what it is to be virtuous is different among individuals. Because Socrates believed there must be complete knowledge of something for it to be learned and taught, and because there is no absolute truth or definition of what any virtue is, virtue can not be taught. For example, piety is considered a virtue. Socrates may ask "if a man is said to be pious toward his parents and they each ask him to do something that conflicts with what the other asks, then how can this man be truly pious?" Because this contradiction exists, there can be no true piety, and thus there can be no true virtue.
"in all human beings the mind leads the body into health or disease or anything else." (p.86) I agree like most virtue can be taught. I believe, however most are born with some virtue but i think the good majority we learn.
Virtue is teachable. If an institution teaches someone something enough times, in theory, it will be in mind more often. If theory is then put into practice enough times, it will become habit. However, the exception exists within those who outrightly choose to disobey virtue like those who are deemed unsuitable for society. Of course, some virtue does come naturally, or so we hope. Nevertheless, I believe the majority of virtue does come from teaching.
Virtue differs from person to person and is very subjective, so therefore it must be something teachable. We all possess differnt virtues that have been learned through our life experiences and interactions with others. These life experiences allow us to make decisions on morality and ethics,which help build our virtues.
I also agree that virtue is something that can be taught, but that our own personal and subjective virtues can arise from experience as well. With knowledge and experience comes virtue, therefore virtue can not be innate in human beings. In this sense virtue is intimately connected with learning and experience. I think this debate is interesting because it calls into question the idea of nature versus nurture. Are human beings born with a sense or right and wrong and of virtue? Or are we taught these things through our own interactions with the world and through encounters with others? On some level, I think the ancient Greek philosophers were the precursors to the nature versus nurture debate.
Yes, I do believe that virute can be taught. I believe that we learn most of our virutes from our parents and others from the world and peers. I think that our parents establish whats right and wrong and from there we choose to do things that are either right or wrong. Also by always having to choose wrong or right we become unique. And everyones virutes differ because not everyone was raised the same way.
I believe that virtue can only be taught. In the world, everyone has different moral standards. These standards are not instinctual but rather a result of one's upbringing. Various cultures have different moral standards learned by the people through social norms. One's personal virtues can be seen as an opinion of what is right and wrong. Such opinions must be formed based on knowledge gained throughout one's life. I believe that virtues can be self-taught as well through inner reflection, thought and personal experience. Although some virtues are inherent in every human, for the most part the virtue must be learned over the course of one's life. in order to have virtue one must have knowledge and in order to have knowledge one must learn and be taught.
I believe that virtue is teachable. Through knowledge one can learn virtues and how to use them appropriately. Learning is a vital component in obtaining virtuous values in one's life. Plato wanted knowledge so that he could further truth and virtue in his life as well as the lives of the community.
Virtue can be taught because it is something people are not necessarily born with. They may possess some virtues but it takes practice to make them more prominent in the person's character. It is said "more people are good by practice than by nature" (Critias 88). This shows that people's traits and characteristics are learned through practice, like virtue. Although virtues can be self taught it helps to have someone guide you in the right direction.
If to be taught virtue means to be shown moral excellence than I am not sure that it can be achieved. What man prove the relativity of excellence?
One may set an ideal, but what is the measure of it? Protagoras believed that concerning the gods, one is unable to know either that they are or that they are not, or what their appearance is like. It is truly unfortunate that many things hinder our knowledge: the obscurity of the matter and the shortness of human life. (Protagoras 81) "Education is not implanted in the soul unless one reaches a greater depth." (Protagoras 81)
The difficult thing, gentlemen, isn't escaping death; escaping villainy is more more difficult, since it runs faster. (Apology 137)
The best we can do is examine one another. "When my sons come of age, gentlemen, punish them by harassing them in the very same way that I harassed you, if they seem to you to take care of wealth or anything before virtue, if they thing they're someone when they're no one. Reproach them, just as I reproached you: tell them that they don't care for the things they should and think they're someone when they're worth nothing." (Apology 140)
Yes, I think virtue is something teachable. To be virtues the person needs to stay away from many temptations like money, honor, and pleasure. To be virtues the person is only looking for knowledge and truth. I think you can teach a person not to have an impetus toward a vice. For Plato to teach virtue we would have to a system set up like the Republic, where you get the children at an early age and teach them virtues.
When a child is born or very young they do not have virtues, they do not know right from wrong (hence why young children can be such a hassle, they do things that they aren't supposed to do). Through knowledge and guidance from parents, siblings, teachers, friends, etc. children and people in general can start to become virtuous and develop their own set of morals. From the beginning parents mold their children into what they believe to be the way a person should live, however when the child is old enough they generally tend to question those virtues, and because they have knowledge and reason they are able to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong.
I believe that virtues can be taught. However, according to Plato it must be discussed everyday because an "...unexamined life isn't worth living for a human being..." I thus presume that Plato is saying that if virtue isn't discussed daily then a man cannot be virtuous. And a man without morals is no more than a barbarian--who's life is not worth living.
I believe that virtue can be taught. For example, not everyone is born with courage. A person's courage is discovered during times when courage is needed. It is not until that courage is needed that a person can gauge his virtue. Loyalty, patience, and honor can all be learned if demonstrated by the right mentor. As Protagoras states, "Education is not implanted in the soul unless one reaches a greater depth" (81).
I believe that virtue can be taught. Virtue is that moral excellence that most individuals strive for. I believe virute can be taught by parents, teachers, friends and any other type of mentor. Though I think virtue can be taught, I think it is very difficult to have many virtues.
I agree with the general consensus that virtue can, in fact, be taught. Antiphon even states that "one's own character inevitably comes to resemble the things one spends most of one's day with"(17). The Sophists reveled in teaching anyone who could pay the price of admission
I do not believe that you can teach someone to be virtuous. I think that each person makes a personal decision to be virtuous or not. For example, if someone is in a burning building, and a person is able to save them then they make the decision to either risk their own life to save the other person or not. Even if they were or were not taught to save people from burning buildings they will still decide to be virtuous or not in that situation. I believe that there can be virtuous people who act as an example for how to be virtuous but I do not believe that it is necessary to have seen other people act virtuously in order for oneself to be virtuous.
I think virtue can be taught but I also believe that it can be inherent in our nature. Our parents can teach us what is the right thing to do and what to stay away from, but like Laren Trigo said, they did not teach us to run into a burning house to save someone but more like you know its the right thing to do. It can be taught and it can come from the instincts you have by being a good person. Which I think means that since your parents were the ones to teach you how to be good, your instincts come from learning what they taught you. So I can see it in both situations.
I think that virtue is something that is teachable. Virtue is the knowledge from right and wrong. Like I can teach virtue to someone but it is their option whether or not they decide to agree with it. We can teach others the knowledge of virtuosity and also how to act virtuous.
I think virtue lies in individual choices. Those choices are largely influenced by an individual's childhood, which determines his/her morals. A person's parents, geographic region, school education, social life, emotional trauma, presence of crime/poverty aroudn the person, religious influences, etc., these all shape a person, and the lack of good influences may lead a person to inevitably bad morals.
I think morals can be taught up to a certain point, and then their morals are set, grounded for life, unless some extreme circumstance changes them. Virtue, on the other hand, lies in individual actions based on morals. For example, honesty, fairness, loyalty, these are all virtues that can be present in certain choices. Being responsible to include consider these and other virtues in our everyday choices shows a person's ethics and their deep moral convictions.
Yes, I believe virtue is absolutly teachable. Virtue by definition is moral excellence or rightousness which seems like something that could be impossible to obtain. But, like Socrates states, virtue can be learned by questioning and gaining knowledge about the world around us. This may even mean questioning certain aspects of our culture that have been accepted for a long time and by a large number of people. Socrates always put virtue first and was executed for questioning massively agreed apon things, but had no regrets for his actions.
Virtue, I think, is the ideal agreement between all humans to act in accordance with everyone's best interests. However, assuming that one knows the best interests or even just the interests of anyone besides oneself is based on the idea that the human experience involves a shared, objective reality. How else could one person pretend to understand what's best for others? If virtue involves behavior that is ideal for "everyone," than we, like Protagoras (who said:"man is the measure of all things, [...]."), have to assume that it is inherent to our survival and only taught so much as eating with a fork and a knife is taught to improve the aesthetics of a similarly natural inclination.
I honestly believe that virtue can be taught. No one is born with knowledge of most kinds. If one wants to know, then questions are asked and through growth things are taught. Socrates believed in the art of questioning things, and that we must ask them to know what is going on. But as usually, people in power do not like when questions are asked, in fear that they would have to give an answer. So all in all, virtue can be taught simply because one is not born with the trait.
In my opinion, virtue is something that can and should be taught. I feel sorry for this generation because they lack good qualities and always seem to want to take the easy way out. Standing up for what you believe in and asking questions about life and how things have come to be is what Socrates things we should all do. In a way, he's right. Becoming moral and righteous paves the way for good character and helps society conduct itself in a more morally and justice-seeking way.
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ReplyDeleteDelete Comment From: Worldviews and Ethics
ReplyDeleteBlogger WendyA said...
Socrates believed that to gain virtue one needed knowledge. Socrates tried to get ancient Greeks to question their lives. His act of questioning makes one assume he believed in individuals ability to obtain knowledge. So, is virtue something teachable? I say absolutely but an individual must be open and wanting of this transformation.
Socrates was sentenced to death because he was questioning laws, customs, and even religion. Individuals don’t like to be told that their ways of living are wrong. Socrates believed that we should always question and he said “When my sons come of age gentlemen, punish them by harassing them in the very same way that I harassed you, if they seem to take care of wealth or anything before virtue, if they think they’re someone when they’re no one…If you will do that, I’ll have received my own just deserts from you, as will my sons” (140).
i agree with wendy 100%, virtue is definitely teachable. i dont think it is an inherent quality that people are born with. i think people have to be open and willing to learn new virtues, especially those that seem to oppose the way they are living. when socrates supports that people should question things, it shows an attempt to learn something new (virtue).
ReplyDeleteI believe that virtues are absolutely teachable, and the only way to learn them is through learning. When born a baby does not know what is right and wrong, but learns from the parents, and later in life those around him/her. Thus the only way to learn virtues is through learning.
ReplyDeleteYes, virtue can be taught. I believe that a key component to one becoming virtuous is through knowledge and reason. As Protagoras states, education is not implanted in the soul unless one reaches a greater depth. If we take out education and place virtue there, we can see that virtue is tangible. One must simply question and know the difference between what is right and wrong. Socrates, was sentenced to die because he questioned his surroundings. He also believed that virtue was something good that should be talked about by men.
ReplyDeleteTrue virtue can not be taught because what it is to be virtuous is different among individuals. Because Socrates believed there must be complete knowledge of something for it to be learned and taught, and because there is no absolute truth or definition of what any virtue is, virtue can not be taught. For example, piety is considered a virtue. Socrates may ask "if a man is said to be pious toward his parents and they each ask him to do something that conflicts with what the other asks, then how can this man be truly pious?" Because this contradiction exists, there can be no true piety, and thus there can be no true virtue.
ReplyDelete"in all human beings the mind leads the body into health or disease or anything else." (p.86) I agree like most virtue can be taught. I believe, however most are born with some virtue but i think the good majority we learn.
ReplyDeleteVirtue is teachable. If an institution teaches someone something enough times, in theory, it will be in mind more often. If theory is then put into practice enough times, it will become habit. However, the exception exists within those who outrightly choose to disobey virtue like those who are deemed unsuitable for society. Of course, some virtue does come naturally, or so we hope. Nevertheless, I believe the majority of virtue does come from teaching.
ReplyDeleteVirtue differs from person to person and is very subjective, so therefore it must be something teachable. We all possess differnt virtues that have been learned through our life experiences and interactions with others. These life experiences allow us to make decisions on morality and ethics,which help build our virtues.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that virtue is something that can be taught, but that our own personal and subjective virtues can arise from experience as well. With knowledge and experience comes virtue, therefore virtue can not be innate in human beings. In this sense virtue is intimately connected with learning and experience. I think this debate is interesting because it calls into question the idea of nature versus nurture. Are human beings born with a sense or right and wrong and of virtue? Or are we taught these things through our own interactions with the world and through encounters with others? On some level, I think the ancient Greek philosophers were the precursors to the nature versus nurture debate.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do believe that virute can be taught. I believe that we learn most of our virutes from our parents and others from the world and peers. I think that our parents establish whats right and wrong and from there we choose to do things that are either right or wrong. Also by always having to choose wrong or right we become unique. And everyones virutes differ because not everyone was raised the same way.
ReplyDeleteI believe that virtue can only be taught. In the world, everyone has different moral standards. These standards are not instinctual but rather a result of one's upbringing. Various cultures have different moral standards learned by the people through social norms. One's personal virtues can be seen as an opinion of what is right and wrong. Such opinions must be formed based on knowledge gained throughout one's life. I believe that virtues can be self-taught as well through inner reflection, thought and personal experience. Although some virtues are inherent in every human, for the most part the virtue must be learned over the course of one's life. in order to have virtue one must have knowledge and in order to have knowledge one must learn and be taught.
ReplyDeleteI believe that virtue is teachable. Through knowledge one can learn virtues and how to use them appropriately. Learning is a vital component in obtaining virtuous values in one's life. Plato wanted knowledge so that he could further truth and virtue in his life as well as the lives of the community.
ReplyDeleteVirtue can be taught because it is something people are not necessarily born with. They may possess some virtues but it takes practice to make them more prominent in the person's character. It is said "more people are good by practice than by nature" (Critias 88). This shows that people's traits and characteristics are learned through practice, like virtue. Although virtues can be self taught it helps to have someone guide you in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIf to be taught virtue means to be shown moral excellence than I am not sure that it can be achieved. What man prove the relativity of excellence?
ReplyDeleteOne may set an ideal, but what is the measure of it? Protagoras believed that concerning the gods, one is unable to know either that they are or that they are not, or what their appearance is like. It is truly unfortunate that many things hinder our knowledge: the obscurity of the matter and the shortness of human life. (Protagoras 81) "Education is not implanted in the soul unless one reaches a greater depth." (Protagoras 81)
The difficult thing, gentlemen, isn't escaping death; escaping villainy is more more difficult, since it runs faster. (Apology 137)
The best we can do is examine one another. "When my sons come of age, gentlemen, punish them by harassing them in the very same way that I harassed you, if they seem to you to take care of wealth or anything before virtue, if they thing they're someone when they're no one. Reproach them, just as I reproached you: tell them that they don't care for the things they should and think they're someone when they're worth nothing." (Apology 140)
Yes, I think virtue is something teachable. To be virtues the person needs to stay away from many temptations like money, honor, and pleasure. To be virtues the person is only looking for knowledge and truth. I think you can teach a person not to have an impetus toward a vice. For Plato to teach virtue we would have to a system set up like the Republic, where you get the children at an early age and teach them virtues.
ReplyDeleteWhen a child is born or very young they do not have virtues, they do not know right from wrong (hence why young children can be such a hassle, they do things that they aren't supposed to do). Through knowledge and guidance from parents, siblings, teachers, friends, etc. children and people in general can start to become virtuous and develop their own set of morals. From the beginning parents mold their children into what they believe to be the way a person should live, however when the child is old enough they generally tend to question those virtues, and because they have knowledge and reason they are able to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI believe that virtues can be taught. However, according to Plato it must be discussed everyday because an "...unexamined life isn't worth living for a human being..." I thus presume that Plato is saying that if virtue isn't discussed daily then a man cannot be virtuous. And a man without morals is no more than a barbarian--who's life is not worth living.
ReplyDeleteI believe that virtue can be taught. For example, not everyone is born with courage. A person's courage is discovered during times when courage is needed. It is not until that courage is needed that a person can gauge his virtue. Loyalty, patience, and honor can all be learned if demonstrated by the right mentor. As Protagoras states, "Education is not implanted in the soul unless one reaches a greater depth" (81).
ReplyDeleteI believe that virtue can be taught. Virtue is that moral excellence that most individuals strive for. I believe virute can be taught by parents, teachers, friends and any other type of mentor. Though I think virtue can be taught, I think it is very difficult to have many virtues.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the general consensus that virtue can, in fact, be taught. Antiphon even states that "one's own character inevitably comes to resemble the things one spends most of one's day with"(17). The Sophists reveled in teaching anyone who could pay the price of admission
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that you can teach someone to be virtuous. I think that each person makes a personal decision to be virtuous or not. For example, if someone is in a burning building, and a person is able to save them then they make the decision to either risk their own life to save the other person or not. Even if they were or were not taught to save people from burning buildings they will still decide to be virtuous or not in that situation. I believe that there can be virtuous people who act as an example for how to be virtuous but I do not believe that it is necessary to have seen other people act virtuously in order for oneself to be virtuous.
ReplyDeleteI think virtue can be taught but I also believe that it can be inherent in our nature. Our parents can teach us what is the right thing to do and what to stay away from, but like Laren Trigo said, they did not teach us to run into a burning house to save someone but more like you know its the right thing to do. It can be taught and it can come from the instincts you have by being a good person. Which I think means that since your parents were the ones to teach you how to be good, your instincts come from learning what they taught you. So I can see it in both situations.
ReplyDeleteI think that virtue is something that is teachable. Virtue is the knowledge from right and wrong. Like I can teach virtue to someone but it is their option whether or not they decide to agree with it. We can teach others the knowledge of virtuosity and also how to act virtuous.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteVirtue is teachable because one learns virtue throughout a lifetime rather than being born virtuous or without virtue.
ReplyDeleteIs virtue teachable?
ReplyDeleteI think virtue lies in individual choices. Those choices are largely influenced by an individual's childhood, which determines his/her morals. A person's parents, geographic region, school education, social life, emotional trauma, presence of crime/poverty aroudn the person, religious influences, etc., these all shape a person, and the lack of good influences may lead a person to inevitably bad morals.
I think morals can be taught up to a certain point, and then their morals are set, grounded for life, unless some extreme circumstance changes them. Virtue, on the other hand, lies in individual actions based on morals. For example, honesty, fairness, loyalty, these are all virtues that can be present in certain choices. Being responsible to include consider these and other virtues in our everyday choices shows a person's ethics and their deep moral convictions.
Yes, I believe virtue is absolutly teachable. Virtue by definition is moral excellence or rightousness which seems like something that could be impossible to obtain. But, like Socrates states, virtue can be learned by questioning and gaining knowledge about the world around us. This may even mean questioning certain aspects of our culture that have been accepted for a long time and by a large number of people. Socrates always put virtue first and was executed for questioning massively agreed apon things, but had no regrets for his actions.
ReplyDeleteVirtue, I think, is the ideal agreement between all humans to act in accordance with everyone's best interests. However, assuming that one knows the best interests or even just the interests of anyone besides oneself is based on the idea that the human experience involves a shared, objective reality. How else could one person pretend to understand what's best for others? If virtue involves behavior that is ideal for "everyone," than we, like Protagoras (who said:"man is the measure of all things, [...]."), have to assume that it is inherent to our survival and only taught so much as eating with a fork and a knife is taught to improve the aesthetics of a similarly natural inclination.
ReplyDeleteI honestly believe that virtue can be taught. No one is born with knowledge of most kinds. If one wants to know, then questions are asked and through growth things are taught. Socrates believed in the art of questioning things, and that we must ask them to know what is going on. But as usually, people in power do not like when questions are asked, in fear that they would have to give an answer. So all in all, virtue can be taught simply because one is not born with the trait.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, virtue is something that can and should be taught. I feel sorry for this generation because they lack good qualities and always seem to want to take the easy way out. Standing up for what you believe in and asking questions about life and how things have come to be is what Socrates things we should all do. In a way, he's right. Becoming moral and righteous paves the way for good character and helps society conduct itself in a more morally and justice-seeking way.
ReplyDelete