A Socratic exercise....

Socrates believed that most of what measures the excellence of character, philosophy and morality, both individually and of the group, could be judged by the answers to just six questions. I thought it might be interesting to ask them here to see how various people differ. How would you answer them?

1. What is courage?
2. What is good?
3. What is justice?
4. What is moderation?
5. What is piety?
6. What is virtue?

(It's interesting to note that the questions of "What is your religion?" and "What is your political party?" did not make the list, isn't it?)

I'll take a stab at it first....

1. What is courage?

Courage is a choice made to do what's right in the face of fear or doubt.

2. What is good?

Good is that which is an unambigious benefit. If a thing benefits one person but harms another, it cannot be considered a "good".

3. What is justice?

Justice is that condition in which no one person or group of persons can consistently exploit the weaker.

4. What is moderation?

Moderation is the disciplined refusal to be dragged to extremes of emotion, greed, lust, or belief.

5. What is piety?

Piety springs from the ability and willingness to subordinate one's own will to something greater than oneself.

6. What is virtue?

Virtue is more than the simple absence of vice, it is the underlying condition of one's character that results in the absence of vice.

AspenValley wrote: Socrates believed that most of what measures the excellence of character, philosophy and morality, both individually and of the group, could be judged by the answers to just six questions. I thought it might be interesting to ask them here to see how various people differ. How would you answer them?


(It's interesting to note that the questions of "What is your religion?" and "What is your political party?" did not make the list, isn't it?)

This could be interesting.

1. What is courage?
Control of yourself in spite of fear.

2. What is good?
The harder road to take.

3. What is justice?
A set of scales that needs to be balanced for us to continue as a society.

4. What is moderation?
(resisting the urge to joke about internet forums)
Moderation is self-control.

5. What is piety?
A proper sense of one's place in the universe.

6. What is virtue?
The ability and determination to take the harder road.

1. What is courage?
Strength in the face of adversity

2. What is good?
That which is morally correct.

3. What is justice?
Fair behavior and treatment equally for all.

4. What is moderation?
It's different for every individual.

5. What is piety?
Reverence, or if religious, it's a devotion to a religion.

6. What is virtue?
High moral standards - the opposite is vice.

1. What is courage?
Helping your fellow man, even when your own life is in peril.

2. What is good?
That which helps your fellow man or yourself, without bringing harm to others.

3. What is justice?
Paying for what you did wrong.

4. What is moderation?
The absence of excess.

5. What is piety?
Respecting your responsibilities to others and yourself.

6. What is virtue?
The quest to do good.