In Search of Virtue in Honors Essays -- Aristotle Friendship Philosoph

In Search of Virtue in HonorsOf the three forms of friendship discussed by Aristotlethe useful, the pleasant, and the goodthe nonesuch seminar most resembles the perfectly good friendship between good men who are alike in excellence or virtue (Aristotle 1156b). A seminar, the Swarthmore website reads, unites force with small groups of dedicated and accomplished students committed to independent learning and dialogue with peers, teachers, and examiners. In light of Aristotelian and neo-Aristotelian thought on friendship, virtue and practical comprehension, this countersign will first examine how an ideal seminar promotes student virtues and then proceed to evaluate an e-mail I wrote in response to an imperfect seminar.Aristotle contends that friendship is slavish for acquiring and maintaining moral excellence the friendship of good men is good, and it increases with their meetings. Also, it seems, they become better as they are active together and correct one another(prenominal) from the mould of the other each takes the imprint of the trait he likes, whence the saying Noble things from noble people. (1172a) Similarly, a seminar composed of individuals with student virtuesincluding diligence, intelligence, curiosity, patience, and humility potentiometer best maintain and encourage virtue. Rosemary Volbrechts Mutual Apprenticeship in moral development, Nancy Shermans Making a Necessity of Virtue, Laurence Thomas Living morally and Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics outline the means by which friendship encourages moral virtue. An extrapolation from moral virtues to student virtues frames their discussion in the context of an honors seminar at Swarthmore. Volbrecht highlights the importance of occasion models in experie... ..., but I erred in the delivery. A wiser, more amenable route may have included individualized messages. The real problem, however, was imperfect breeding and my lack of familiarity with the nuances of my classmates personalities. Aristot le writes, each man can judge competently the things he knows (Aristotle 1095a). His counsel offers little comfort when combined with rigorous epistemological standards. If flawless practical wisdom requires perfect information, then any decision by imperfect moral agents requires a search not for truth, but for the lesser evil. In my case, I intrust the damage done was not too great. Works CitedAristotle. Ethics.Sherman, Nancy. Making a Necessity of Virtue. Thomas, Laurence. Living Morally.Volbrecht, Mary Rose. Friendship Mutual Apprenticeship in Moral Development. diary of Value Inquiry, vol. 24 (1990).