- Prudence (Knowledge)
- Fortitude (Bravery/ Courage)
- Temperance (Moderation)
- Justice (Fairness)
First we started with knowledge... there are many kinds of knowledge in the world whether it be "book knowledge" or "street knowledge" or being "street smart"... I think it really depends on the person and what they consider to be knowledge. Common sense is definitely something that you should have... as Robert (http://arobsblog.blogspot.com) said you have to have common sense if you want to get anywhere. There's a difference between having the knowledge and using the knowledge.
Next we discussed (as it flowed through the conversation) the concept of bravery and what it is. I think that I contributed a lot to this one because I had a lot of thoughts that had mainly come to me during the other part of our conversation. Some questions that I asked were "What is bravery?" There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. What one person might see as brave another might think is stupid. There isn't one way to define bravery or beauty or truth for that matter... once again we are brought back to "in the eyes of the beholder". Many ideas that I believed in were as such: Bravery means you are taking a chance to do something good and what you believe in but it does take some knowledge to be brave. Bravery could be ignorance in some cases, but in others not so much.
Moderation, or the trait of being patient, I think is one key component to life... to be able to enjoy the beautiful things in life, you have to be able to wait for them. If you get everything you want right then and there, you won't enjoy what you get in the end.
Justice is the last one and it ties in with many other favorable traits: trust, truth, etc. and once again, it is in the eyes of the beholder. When Socrates was killed for his beliefs the government thought that it was fair to kill him... but I don't think it was. Justice can also be ignorant (as can love and truth) and it really depends on who the person is.
A girl in my class named Ashley (http://bbyashley.blogspot.com) said that if she could put one new virtue on the list it would be to give people a "good presentation" of yourself. What I'm confused about is what is good? How would you go about carrying yourself in a "good" way? Once again, its all a matter of perspective!
If I could add one virtue to the four "cardinal" virtues and make it five I would add "acceptance". I see so many people, EVERYWHERE, that "hate" people because they are Jewish, because they're black, because they're homosexual. I think it's SICK! There's nothing wrong with it! People need to accept others for who they are and all those out there who are reading this who have been treated in such ways keep fighting! I'm right behind you.
Socrates once said that "religion is ignorance" and in some ways it is. Some religions blind you to things that are going on in the world. I'm Catholic, but I believe in many things that Atheists believe. I believe in "The Big Bang" and evolution and such and at the same time I believe in God and Jesus and all the other things that happened. I'm torn... What makes me feel really amazed is that as soon as I was done saying that, Cortney looked at me and said "And you know what's amazing about America today? You would have been tried and killed for saying what you just did." My heart jumped and I stopped for a moment... It was exhilarating!
So when you think about it all these four virtues and basically anything you might talk about is all in the eyes of the beholder, from music, to beauty, to food even! I love it because if the entire world were like one person then it would be SO BORING!! Not because of that one person's beliefs but because there would be nothing to talk about if we all had the same opinion. We wouldn't have had this symposium today... and that's what makes it beautiful.
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