The Virtues

In both The Peaceable Kingdom and the excerpt we read from Hauerwas's A Community of Character, Hauerwas evokes Aquinas and Aristotle and contends that "there must first be a character that somehow has an affinity for excellence or virtue, a character that loves what is noble and feels disgust at what is base."  Hauerwas relies heavily on the virtues to defend his writing on the "Christian" ethical life.  In the writings of the ancient Greeks and medieval Church thinkers, philosophers and theologians traditionally recognized four cardinal virtues: 1) prudence (the ability to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time); 2) justice (the proper moderation between self-interest and the rights and needs of others); 3) temperance (the practice of self-control, abstention, and moderation); and 4) courage (forbearance, endurance, and ability to confront fear and uncertainty, or intimidation).  You're an aspiring religious ethicist or theological writer attempting to craft new cardinal virtues for a new era.  What four values would you choose and why?

Living Amid Fragments and On the Brink of Confusion and Violence

In his opening chapter, Hauerwas writes that we "live in a precarious situation.  Life is always on the edge of violence, since there are no means to ensure that moral argument in itself can resolve our moral conflicts... Moreover the fragmentation of our world is not only 'out there,' but it is in our own souls.  Amid fragments it is extremely hard to maintain our moral identity.  We feel... unsure whether there is or can be any coherence to our lives.  We become divided selves, more tempted to violence..."  In other words, he paints a rather bleak landscape of the moral world we are encountering today. And, to be sure, in an increasingly polarized world (both politically and economically) in which we continue to bear witness to figurative and literal violence, things can look dire.  However, are things really that bleak in society and in ourselves?  Is there really so little hope in our quest to live moral lives?  Moreover, do you buy Hauerwas's argument?  Are we really that confused about morality today as a society and as individuals facing existential dilemmas? Please respond in at least 10 thoughtful sentences.

To Be Or Not To Be A Saint

Yesterday, we asked a basic question about whether PURITY should be an ideal and we wholeheartedly agreed that much of the answer to this question depended a great deal on how one defined the term purity.  In her article "Moral Saints," the philosopher Susan Wolf polemically writes "that moral perfection, in the sense of moral saintliness, DOES NOT constitute a model of personal well-being toward which it would be particularly rational or good or desirable for a human being to strive."  Wolf's statement certainly seems controversial.  Do you agree or disagree with her statement?  Shouldn't we at the very least strive for moral perfection?  If not, what should we aim for in life?  Please respond to this post in 7-10 thoughtful and well-written sentences.  Thank you and looking forward to reading your responses.