cardinal virtues

PURPOSE:

This assignment is designed to assess

1. Your understanding of one of the cardinal virtues; and

2. Your ability to recognize that virtue in a historical or literary exemplar.

The idea is for you take what you have learned about virtue ethics and do some extra study of it. For that reason, additional research will be required. See below.

PRODUCT:

This is to be an essay of 750 to 1,250 words. It is to be typed, double-spaced, using a standard word-processing program, and submitted as a .doc, .docx, .pdf, or .rtf file. It is to be uploaded to the Assignments dropbox in PAWS (located under Assessment).

TOPIC:

As the focus of your essay, please

1. Choose a historical figure (a dead person famous enough to be written about) or a literary character (a fictional person who has been written about); and

2. Show how he or she is an exemplar of
one
of the classical cardinal virtues, in either their ancient Greek or Latin/Christian versions, namely:

a. Wisdom (or prudence)

b. Courage (or fortitude)

c. Moderation (or temperance)

d. Justice

METHOD:

Your analysis should proceed through the following basic stages.

1. Begin by introducing the virtue. Define it and give a brief exposition in terms of classical virtue theory.

2. Then briefly introduce the person. Give his or her historical or literary context. (Alternatively, you can introduce the person first and then the virtue.)

3. Provide a few specific examples from the person’s life that demonstrate that virtue in action and show why your person is a good exemplar. This part should make up the bulk of your paper.

4. Close with a summary of why your selected person is a good exemplar of your chosen virtue, with any necessary qualifications added (e.g., your person may have had notable failures or shortcomings relevant to the given virtue that will need to be addressed, or your person may have displayed the chosen virtue in a way appropriate to his or her own culture but not to ours).

SOURCES:

If your exemplar is a historical figure, you will need to consult appropriate reference works on the figure (biographies, etc.). If your exemplar is a literary character, you will need to consult the works in which he or she appears (stories, etc.). You will need to cite these works when giving evidence of your chosen virtue in the figure’s life.

Also your understanding of your selected virtue must be supported by reference to original philosophical sources. Please rely on the following:

1. wisdom or prudence (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics VI.3,5-8,13)
or prudence (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II, Q. 47)

2. courage (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics III.6-9)
or fortitude (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II, Q. 123)

3. moderation or temperance (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics III.10-12)
or temperance (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II, QQ. 141-142)

4. justice (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics V.2-6
or Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II, Q. 58)

Parenthetical references are fine in a short essay like this unless your instructor prescribes a different citation style. Please note that long quotations from sources are not appropriate in an essay this short. Also note that essays that do not provide proper citations or documentation for any sources used, will be deemed plagiarized
and receive failing grades.