MODULE 8

Ethical Framework:
Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics

Module 8 presents the ethical perspective (Virtue Ethics) of the famous “Father of Logic”,
Aristotle. Different virtues are analysed here vis-à-vis their correlative vices. The importance
of the use of reason in attaining happiness is emphasized as well. To note, while habits may
either be good (virtues) or bad (vices), the habit of doing good must have primary emphasis
to our lives as human beings.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of Module 8, you should be able to:
1. trace the development of the concept of Eudaimonia as the highest good;
2. identify which are the virtues among the different vices;
3. determine the possible level of happiness that one can attain, given the end
that one is pursuing;
4. justify why man is considered as the “highest” animal; and
5. apply Aristotle’s “doctrine of the Mean” in different facets of life.

ENGAGE

With the current global health pandemic, we realize and acknowledge the courage
shown by our front liners. Our health workers primarily, but also our military men and
women, our garbage collectors, our street sweepers, grocery personnel, drugstore
personnel, and our food vendors and delivery/errand persons, to name a few, have
made it possible to survive so far through this pandemic. Reflecting thus:

Question: Do you think you have the virtue of courage? If yes, in what way? If no, why?

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 EXPLORE

Watch some summarized presentations regarding Aristotle and the Virtue Theory here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvtOWEXDIQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSLsUO6uK4M

EXPLAIN

 8. Virtue Ethics
8.1. Virtue Ethics: Meaning, Origin, and Features
8.1.1. Meaning and Origin
The word virtue comes from the Latin root “vir”, meaning “man”. At first, virtue meant
manliness or valor, being parallel to the old expression “man of character”, but over time it
settled to mean “moral excellence”. Virtue can also mean excellence in general while being
construed also as the quality of being morally good.
Virtue ethics is classified as a teleological ethical principle. Teleological or teleology
comes from the Greek word “telos”, meaning an end or purpose proper to one’s nature. As
such, attaining virtue is the telos or purpose proper to human nature. Note that this telos
would be virtue as knowledge in Socrates; and both virtue of character and intellectual
virtue in Aristotle.
Socrates, as represented in Plato's early dialogues, held that virtue is a sort of
knowledge (the knowledge of good and
evil) that is required to reach the ultimate
good, or eudaimonia, which is what all
human desires and actions aim to
achieve. Discussions of what were known
as the Four Cardinal Virtues (prudence,
justice, fortitude and temperance) can
be found in Plato's "Republic". Moreover,
Plato and Socrates also claimed that the
rational part of the soul or mind must
govern the spirited, emotional and
appetitive parts in order to lead all desires
and actions to eudaimonia.
The concept reached its highest elevation in Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" in the
4th Century B.C.E. Aristotle held that eudaimonia is constituted, not by honor, wealth or
power, but by rational activity in accordance with virtue over a complete life --- this might
be described today as productive self-actualization. This rational activity, he judged, should
manifest as honesty, friendliness, wittiness, rationality in judgment; mutually beneficial
friendships and scientific knowledge.

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 The Greek idea of the virtues was later incorporated into
Scholastic Christian moral theology, particularly by St. Thomas Aquinas in
his "Summa Theologiae" of 1274 and in his "Commentaries on the
Nicomachean Ethics". Relatedly, the Christian virtues were also based in
large part on the Seven Virtues (from Aurelius Clemens Prudentius’ epic
poem (410 A.D.)): chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness,
patience, and humility. Practice of these virtues was alleged to protect
one against temptation from the Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, greed,
sloth, wrath, envy and pride).
The term "virtue ethics" is a relatively recent one, essentially coined
during the 20th century revival of the theory, and it originally defined itself by calling for a
change from the then dominant normative theories of Deontology (e.g. Immanuel Kant with
Categorical Imperatives) and Consequentialism (e.g. Jeremy Bentham on Utilitarianism).
*To illustrate the difference among three key moral philosophies mentioned above,
ethicists Mark White and Robert Arp refer to the film The Dark Knight where Batman has the
opportunity to kill the Joker. Utilitarians, White and Arp suggest, would endorse killing the
Joker. By taking this one life, Batman could save many. Deontologists, on the other hand,
would reject killing the Joker simply because it’s wrong to kill. But a virtue ethicist “would
highlight the character of the person who kills the Joker. Does Batman want to be the kind
of person who takes his enemies’ lives?” No, in fact, he doesn’t.
So, virtue ethics helps us understand what it means to be a virtuous human being. It
also gives us a guide for living life without giving us specific rules for resolving ethical
dilemmas.

8.1.2. Character Building For A Good Life

Imagine a person who always knows what to say, can diffuse a tense situation, can deliver
tough news gracefully, is confident without being arrogant, is courageous but not reckless,
is generous but never prodigal. This is the type of person everybody wants to be around with
and to be like; someone who seems to have mastered the art of being a person. This sounds
like an impossible feat but Aristotle believed that while rare, these people do exist. They are
all what we should aspire to be: virtuous!
Virtue theory does not spend a lot of time telling you what to do --- there is no
categorical imperative or principles of utility, and no set of rules to follow in order to be a
good person. Instead, it is all about an individual’s character. Aristotle and other virtue
theorists argued that if we can just focus on being good people, right actions naturally follow,
and effortlessly at that. Become a good person and you will do good things.
The theory reflects the ancient assumption that humans do have a fixed nature or
essence and that the way we flourish is by adhering to that nature. Aristotle describe this in
terms of what he called proper functioning; everything has a function and a thing is good
to the extent that it fulfills its function and it is bad if it does not. This is easy to see in the things
around us like a chair whose function is to be sat upon for comfort and convenience; a
flower is expected to grow and reproduce and if it does not fulfill its function then it is an
insignificant bloom. The same is true for humans. While we are biological animals (all the stuff
that indicate proper functioning for an animal holds true for us as well, i.e., we need to grow,
be healthy, fertile, and so on), we are also rational and social animals. This means that our
functions also involve using reason and getting along with our own species.

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 Note that proper functioning is not all about God’s plan but that nature also built into
us the desire to be virtuous. What does it mean to be virtuous? To simply claim that having
virtue just means doing the right thing at the right time, in the right way, in the right amount,
and to the right person, seem very vague. For Aristotle, there is no need to be specific,
because if you are virtuous, you know just what to do. You know how to handle yourself and
how to get along with others; you have a good judgement and you know what and when
it is right. Aristotle understood virtue as a set of robust character traits that once developed,
will lead to predictably good behavior.
For Aristotle, virtue is the midpoint between two extremes,
which are called vices. It is the right amount, the sweet spot between
the extreme of excess and the other extreme of deficiency, and this
spot is known as the Golden Mean; it is also referred to by some
scholars as the Theory of Moderation, or Theory of the Middle. To
demonstrate the theory let’s take a look at some particular virtues
starting with courage.
What is courage? Take a closer look at this situation: while on
your way home you see a person being mugged. What is the
courageous action for you to take? Your immediate reaction might
be in line with the idea that “a courageous person would run over
there and stop the mugging because courage means putting
yourself in harm’s way for a good cause”. Now, a virtuous, courageous person in the
Aristotelian sense would first take stock of the situation, size up the mugger and have some
good reasons to believe that he/she could safely intervene. If the person assessed the
situation and he/she recognized that intervention would likely put both the person trying to
help and the victim in danger, then the courageous thing to do is not to intervene by
physically forcing oneself between the assailant and the victim. Rather, the courageous act
would be to call for help instead (from others and more appropriately, the authorities).
Hopefully, this call for aid would come in time and that both the person and the assistance
solicited could intervene safely. Otherwise, at least the assailant would be brought to justice.
According to Aristotle, courage is the midpoint between the extremes of cowardice and
recklessness – cowardice is the deficiency of courage while recklessness is an excess of
courage --- and both are bad. Aristotle said that “you definitely can have too much of a
good thing”, so being courageous doesn’t mean rushing headlong into danger, but rather
“a courageous person will assess the situation, they will know their own abilities, and they will
take the right action in the particular situation”. Furthermore, part of having courage is being
able to recognize when, rather than stepping in immediately, you need to find authority who
can handle the situation that is too big for you to tackle alone. Basically, as such, courage is
finding the right way to act.
Aristotle thought all virtues work like this: the right action is always a midpoint between
two extremes, and there is no “all or nothing” in this theory. Relatedly, this includes even
honesty. Accordingly, honesty is the midpoint between the extremes of brutal honesty and
failing to say things that need to be said – it is knowing what needs to be put out there and
what should be kept silent. It also means knowing how to deliver hard truths gracefully, how
to break bad news gently. It may also mean knowing how to offer criticism constructively,
rather than being soul-crushingly tactless or insensitive about how one’s information could
impact others.
Determining the midpoint of every action can become tedious, not to mention as
well that the “midpoint” could vary from person to person as well as from one situation to

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 another. How then can we possibly learn to be virtuous? According to Aristotle, virtue is a
skill, a way of living, and it is something that can only really be learned through experience.
Virtue is a kind of knowledge he called practical wisdom or phronesis. It is something that
one can learn practically in the streets or while performing multiple concerns or chores in life
like cooking, attending classes, even reading a book, and so on.
A person’s character is developed through habituation - if you do a virtuous thing over
and over again, it will eventually become part of your character. Furthermore, learning to
do the right thing comes by way of finding those who are, in a way, already virtuous and
emulating them. These people, who already possess virtues, are called moral exemplars, and
according to this theory, we are built with the ability to recognize them and with the desire
to emulate them. We can learn virtues by watching, and then by doing acts inspired by the
exemplary actions of others. This would be hard at the beginning, and the person might feel
a sense on inauthenticity since he/she seems to just be copying someone else. But over time
these actions will become ingrained into the person and eventually builds as part of the
person’s character. It becomes that robust trait that Aristotle refers to as the Golden Mean.
It will manifest every time the situation calls for it, an effortless, smooth action exemplified by
the person as part of his/her set of virtues.
Why do we need to build our character, apply practical wisdom and emulate moral
exemplars? What motivates us to become the ‘good person’ that we can be? Virtue theory
evokes that we should become virtuous because if we are then we can attain the pinnacle
of humanity. It allows us to attain what is known as eudaimonia --- a Greek word which means
“a life well lived”, “a good life”, or also “human flourishing”. A life of eudaimonia is a life of
striving. It’s a life of pushing oneself to the limit and finding success. A eudaimonistic life is full
of the happiness that comes from achieving something really difficult, rather than just having
it handed to you. But choosing to live a eudaimonistic life means that you are never done
improving; you are constantly setting goals and working to develop new ways to achieve
them. Choosing to live life this way also means you will face disappointments and failures.
Eudaimonia does not mean a life of cupcakes and rainbows. It means, rather, the good
feeling of sinking into your bed contentedly after an absolutely exhausting day in school or
in the office – it is the satisfaction of knowing that you accomplished a lot and pushed
yourself to be the best that you could be that day.

8.1.3. Summary of the Section

Virtue ethics is the quest to understand and live a life of moral character. This
character-based approach to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through
practice: through honing our strengths while working on our weaknesses. By practicing
being honest, brave, just, generous, and so on, a person develops an honorable and
moral character. According to Aristotle, by honing virtuous habits, people will likely make
the right choice when faced with ethical challenges.
(***Taken from the lectures of Prof. Raul Leandro Villanueva)

8.2. Virtue Ethics: Figures and Terms

Virtue ethics is related closely to theories of Self-Realization. Theories of self- realization
represent the moral reflections of the ancients more than two millennia years ago. The
common denominator of these theories is the idea that the moral good of the individual
consists in the development of one’s potentials, thus fulfilling and realizing one’s nature. This

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 fulfillment is achieved by actualizing man’s possibilities, considering the important aspects of
the human person. To note, these aspects are inherent to the person as such. Virtue ethics
considers that moral life should be concerned with cultivating a virtuous character rather
than following rules of actions. In virtue ethics, a moral person is someone who displays the
character traits of honesty, courage, and integrity. Note that, on the other hand however, a
possible counterargument is that virtue ethics is not always the best to resolve ethical
dilemmas. It may be argued that Issues are not resolved by simply being good nor by simply
being righteous, especially when faced with multiple possibilities where a choice between
virtues becomes necessary.

8.2.1. Socrates and Plato

Virtue ethics was introduced by Socrates in his ‘know-thyself ‘principle, which is a lifetime
project inculcating self-questioning, self-reflection and self-assessment. This process of “self-
knowing” implies that a person cannot cheat himself/herself since for Socrates, ‘an
unexamined life is not worth living.’ One has to be wise by being prudent, temperate,
courageous and just. Wisdom sums up everything that a person does.
Plato’s moral philosophy (429 – 347 B.C.) introduced the view that things that exist on
this earth are merely imperfect copies or reflections of those in the ideal world. Ideas are
perfect, eternal, immutable and universal. Things we perceive through our senses, in space
and time, are but the temporary manifestations of the Ideal thing, which is one, indivisible,
timeless and space-less. Given such, ideas and ideals like human dignity, integrity, and
virtues continue to be meaningful even if the persons exhibiting them already dies. In another
sense, Platonic morality may be appropriated by the statement: “you cannot put a good
man down”.
Virtues are unseen and indefinable, yet they are important, valuable, and essential.
So, we have to strive to attain completeness of the Good, Beauty and Truth even though, as
of yet, we cannot comprehend and grasp them absolutely.
Known as father of idealism, Plato grounded his ethical thought where morality
consists essentially in the constant imitation of the Good --- the highest of all ideas. To be
moral, a human person ought to know the Good, follow or do the Good, and ultimately to
possess the Good. Relatedly and reiterating the point, in his Allegory of the Cave, Plato
taught that the sensible world (world of the senses) is an imperfect copy of the ideal world
(world of ideas). As such, ideas are eternal, immortal, and perfect. Moreover, in this
understanding, Plato proposes that ignorance is the only evil (since ignorance is the absence
of good). For this reason, one must educate oneself through virtues that are eternal,
immutable, or immeasurable – good, beauty and truth.

8.2.2. Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.)

Unlike his teacher Plato, Aristotle believes that the world that we perceive is the real world.
Human nature is as it actually is and not simply a copy or manifestation of an ideal form.
Take, for example, man. Man is a composite of body and soul, mind and matter, senses and
intellect. Man is, therefore, a rational being. Man has a nature in common with the other
animals. He is, however, above all of them because he possesses reason or rationality. As
such, man strives towards an end or goal in view. This is the Good. But what is the Good that

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 man seeks? For Aristotle, it is happiness. But what is man’s true happiness? To answer this
question, we must understand what man’s true end is, and this means asking about what is
the proper function or purpose of man.
If man is rational, then the proper function of man is the act of reason. For Aristotle,
the end or function of man could only be the activity of reason brought to its fullest extent,
namely, the moral virtues viewed within the framework of a communal life of the “polis” and
the “act of contemplation.” Moral virtue is following the rule of moderation: taking the middle
between two extremes, excess and deficiency. For instance, overeating as well as eating
too little is bad; eating moderately is good. As well, drinking too much alcohol results in a
hang-over while not drinking any alcohol may result to imbalances in the body. Assumably,
thus, one needs to drink moderately.
Now, to Aristotle, the act of contemplation is the best and most perfect virtue.
Contemplation means engaging in the highest, most perfect type of reflection, whereby
man can commune with the divine and eternal truths. It is the fulfilment of the highest
potential of man as a rational being. The twin ends of moral virtues and act of contemplation
enable man to attain happiness. Happiness or “eudaimonia” is the result of virtuous living,
the proper exercise of reason in all of man’s action and endeavors. Human persons should
thus strive to practice virtues such as righteousness, honesty, integrity, moderation, goodness,
truth and sincerity.

8.2.3. Terms in Aristotelian Ethics

Akrasia - Usually translated as “incontinence,” this term connotes a lack of self-control. A
person exhibiting akrasia knows what good behavior consists of but lacks the self-control not
to give in to physical pleasures. The concept of akrasia is significant to Aristotle, as he
generally agrees with the Socratic claim that no one willingly does evil and that all
wrongdoing is a result of ignorance. If the incontinent person acts wrongly in full knowledge
of what is good, this poses a dilemma for Socratic ethics, which Book VII of the Ethics
attempts to answer.

Arete - Usually translated as “virtue,” this important term means something more akin to
“excellence.” For the Greeks, arete can be used to refer not only to a person’s moral or
intellectual virtues, but to any other kind of excellence, be it the fitness of an athlete or even
the sharpness of a knife. Generally speaking, a person, animal, or thing exhibits arete when
it is performing its function properly. That the Greeks use the term arete in their discussions of
ethics implies a strong sense that humans have a function just as knives do, and that we
become good by fulfilling this function.

Doctrine of the Mean - this is Aristotle’s doctrine, stated most explicitly in Book II, that virtue is
a mean state between the vicious extremes of excess and deficiency. This doctrine is left
necessarily vague, as Aristotle thinks that this ‘mean’ varies from person to person. Essentially,
it consists of the observation that it is always possible to have too much or too little of a good
thing.

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 Energeia - This Greek word, which is the root of the word energy, is generally translated as
“activity.” However, it is not necessarily an activity in the sense that we might understand it
to be. For instance, Aristotle describes both happiness and contemplation as activities. In
calling happiness an energeia, Aristotle relates it with virtue, which he considers to be hexis
or disposition. That is, the virtues dispose us to behave in the correct manner. Actually
behaving according to the virtues, however, is not itself a virtue but rather the energeia of
happiness.

Ethos - We can see that this term is the root of the word ethics. However, it is more accurately
translated as “character,” which gives us an important insight to understanding what ethics
is about. Aristotle is not so much concerned with moralizing as he is with determining what
constitutes an admirable character.

Hexis - Translated as “disposition,” hexis is the term Aristotle uses to qualify the virtues.
According to Aristotle, virtue is not something one actively does. Rather, virtue is a disposition
to behave in the right way.

Eudaimonia - Normally translated as “happiness,” eudaimonia also carries connotations of

success and fulfillment. For the Greeks, happiness is not an inner, emotional state, but the
activity, or energeia, of a successful person. The Greeks did not share our sharp distinction
between the public and the private, so for them, happiness is a public matter that can be
evaluated just as accurately by an observer as by the person being observed.

Phronesis - Often translated as “prudence,” this term is perhaps better, but more
cumbersomely, translated as “practical wisdom.” Phronesis is an important intellectual virtue
that allows us to reason properly about practical matters. Phronesis consists in no small part
to an appropriate application of the practical syllogism.

Psyche - The root of the word psychology, psyche is generally translated as “soul”, though it
carries none of the spiritual connotations of the Christian use of that word. Psyche is that
unobservable property that distinguishes living things from nonliving things. The human
psyche consists of three major parts: the nutritive part, which it shares with both plants and
animals; the appetitive part, which it shares with only animals; and the rational part, which is
distinctively human.

Telos - This important term can be translated variously as “end,” “goal,” or “purpose” but
specific for the Greeks, telos is the purpose proper to ones nature. According to Aristotle, we
have a telos as humans, which it is our goal to fulfill. This telos is based on our uniquely human
capacity for rational thought. Aristotle’s view of humans having a telos based in our
rationality leads directly to his conclusion in Book X that contemplation is the highest human
good.

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 8.2.4. Table of several known Virtues and Vices
SPHERE OF ACTION OF FEELING EXCESS MEAN DEFICIENCY
Fear and Confidence Rashness Courage Cowardice
Pleasure and Pain Licentiousness Temperance Insensibility
Getting and Spending (minor) Prodigality Liberality Illiberality
Getting and Spending (major) Vulgarity Magnificence Pettiness
Honor and Dishonor (minor) Ambition Proper Ambition Unambitiousness
Honor and Dishonor (major) Vanity Magnanimity Pusillanimity
Anger Irascibility Patience Lack of Spirit
Self-expression Boastfulness Truthfulness Understatement
Conversation Buffoonery Wittiness Boorishness
Social Conduct Obsequiousness Friendliness Cantankerousness
or Flattery
Shame Shyness Modesty Shamelessness
Indignation Envy Righteous indignation Malicious enjoyment

8.2.5. Themes, Ideas & Arguments

*Virtue and Happiness
The word happiness in the Ethics is a translation of the Greek term eudaimonia, which carries
connotations of success and fulfillment. For Aristotle, this happiness is our highest goal.
However, Aristotle does not say that we should aim at happiness, but rather that we do aim
at happiness. His goal in the Ethics is not to tell us that we ought to live happy, successful
lives, but to tell us what this life consists of. Most people think of
happiness as physical pleasure or honor, but this is because they
have an imperfect view of the good life.
The conception people have of happiness frequently
does not line up with true happiness because people are
generally deficient in virtue. Virtue is a disposition to behave in
the right manner, which is inculcated from a young age. A
person with the virtue of courage, for instance, will not only show
confidence in the face of fear, but will think of this courage as a
good thing. Behaving courageously will make the virtuous
person happy and will be one part of living a generally good life.
By contrast, a person who has been poorly brought up and
exhibits the vice of cowardice will find happiness in the
avoidance of danger and thus will have an imperfect view of
the good life.

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 *Moral Education
A question of high importance in any investigation of ethics is how we can teach people to
be good. Aristotle is quite clear that he does not think virtue can be taught in a classroom
nor by means of argument. His Ethics, then, is not designed to make people good, but rather
to explain what is good, why it is good, and how we might set about building societies and
institutions that might inculcate this goodness.
According to Aristotle, virtue is something learned through constant practice that
begins at a young age. We might understand his outlook better if we recognize the meaning
of the word arete, which is rendered as “virtue” in most English translations. This term more
generally means “excellence,” so a good horseman, for example, can exhibit arete in
horsemanship without necessarily implying any sort of moral worth in the horseman. It should
be obvious to anyone that excellence in horsemanship cannot be learned solely by reading
about horsemanship and hearing reasoned arguments for how best to handle horses.
Becoming a good horseman requires steady practice: one learns to handle a horse by
spending a lot of time riding horses.
For Aristotle, there is no essential distinction between the kind of excellence that marks
a good horseman and the kind of excellence that marks a good person generally. Both kinds
of excellence require practice first and theoretical study second, so the teaching of virtue
can be only of secondary importance after the actual practice of it.

*The Doctrine of the Mean

One of the most famous aspects of the Ethics is Aristotle’s doctrine that virtue exists as the
“mean state” between the vicious extremes of excess and deficiency. For example, the
virtuous mean of courage stands between the vices of rashness and cowardice, which
represent excess and deficiency respectively.
For Aristotle, this is not a precise formulation. Saying that courage is the mean
between rashness and cowardice does not mean that courage stands exactly in between
these two extremes, nor does it mean that courage is the same for all people. Aristotle
repeatedly reminds us in the Ethics that there are no general laws or exact formulations in
the practical sciences. Rather, we need to approach matters case by case, informed by
inculcated virtue and a fair dose of practical wisdom.
Aristotle’s claim that virtue can be learned only through constant practice implies that
there are no set rules we can learn and then obey. Instead, virtue consists of learning through
experience what the mean is, relative to ourselves, and amongst the vices we may be liable
to stumble into.

*The Unity of the Virtues

For Aristotle, virtue is an all-or-nothing affair. We cannot pick and choose our virtues: we
cannot decide that we will be courageous and temperate but choose not to be
magnificent. Nor can we call people properly virtuous if they fail to exhibit all of the virtues.
Though Aristotle lists a number of virtues, he sees them all as coming from the same source.
A virtuous person is someone who is naturally disposed to exhibit all the virtues, and a
naturally virtuous disposition exhibits all the virtues equally.

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 To reiterate, the word/term ethics descends from the Greek word ethos, which more
properly means “character.” Aristotle’s concern in the Ethics, then, is what constitutes a
good character. All the virtues spring from a unified character, so no good person can
exhibit some virtues without exhibiting them all.

*The Importance of Friendship

Aristotle devotes two of the ten books of the Ethics to discussing friendship in all its forms. This
is hardly a digression from the main line of argument. Happiness, according to Aristotle, is a
public affair instead of a private one, and as such, those with whom we share this happiness
is of great significance.
Relatedly, the city-states of ancient Greece were tightly-knit communities. In the
Politics, Aristotle argues that we cannot fully realize our human nature outside the bounds of
a Greek city-state. The bonds that tie citizens together are so important that it would be
unthinkable to suggest that true happiness can be found in the life of a hermit.

*The Life of Contemplation

In Book X, Aristotle ultimately concludes that contemplation is the highest human activity.
This is largely a consequence of his teleological view of nature, according to which the telos,
or goal, of human life is the exercise of our rational powers. In discussing the various
intellectual virtues, Aristotle extols wisdom as the highest, since it deals only with unchanging,
universal truths and rests on a synthesis of scientific investigation and the intuitive
understanding of the first principles of nature. The activity of wisdom is contemplation, so
contemplation must be the highest activity of human life.

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 ELABORATE

What is happiness? Are virtuous people, such as your hero, happier than vicious people?
Are you happier when you are being virtuous? How does being vicious affect you?

EVALUATE

Please refer to the Google classroom for the evaluative activity pertinent to these
discussions. Be guided accordingly.

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means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited. 12