Okay Guys everything went really quick today. We discussed a number of topics and aimed for breadth over depth. No worries, this will be switched in the coming classes. In any case the main themes today were the questions "Who is a Great Individual? What characteristics lend themselves to "greatness"? How does the Good Life follow from this determination? Must one be typically happy or content to lead the Good Life? Can one be miserable, i.e., suffering and still be living the good life?"
We then moved onto to discuss the specific virtue of courage and how this concept applies to determining a person's "greatness." We started asking about how this virtue relates to other virtues like wisdom, prudence, piety/humility and whether this virtue can "stand alone." We also started to question how courage may be easily deformed or how the so-called "villain" or "fanatic" rather than simply the hero or saint may also be courageous. We even questioned whether one may be both a coward and a hero as well as trying to distinguish between moral versus physical courage.
This is a lot, I know and don't worry there will be more! Yet from now on we will have plenty of time and, since we have this blog, plenty of space to discuss everything.
Also I want to thank all of you who had the courage to write something honest about yourselves. Yet, keep in mind, unlike the specific virtue of wisdom where once one acquires it or seems to possess it, the virtue of courage seems more precarious, i.e., it can be lost easily. Possessing a courageous disposition seems to take practice and thus, endure and keep attempting to speak fearlessly in this class, regardless of the risk.
Cheers,
Dr. Layne
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