HONS 170 Study Guide - Spring 2019, Comprehensive Final Exam Notes - René Descartes, Rationalism, God
Document Summary
First hypothesis: virtue is a form of knowledge. If we assume that virtue is a form of knowledge, than it must be teachable. Reasons why virtue is a form of knowledge: virtues are character traits, virtues are inherently (by definition) good, character traits are good only if accompanied by wisdom, thus, virtues must involve wisdom. Objections: is good relative, in completness, not a lot of focus on students. If virtue is teachable, then there should be teachers of virtue. According to socrates there are no effective teachers of virtue: ex. There are virtuous men and women who want to teach (pass on) virtue to their children, but do not succeed. Thus it seems likely that virtue cannot be taught: thus, virtue is not teachable. Knowledge has to be both a true opinion and backed up by evidence and reasons. Virtue will be teachable once we have knowledge about what virtue is.
