On page 173, Adams states that "there is no such thing as complete human virtue; no such thing as a fully good human life if that means a human life that could not be morally improved in any way." I concur. Adams also states that that a morally excellent person is excellent more or less because the person is well prepared for all situations familiar, not necessarily the unfamiliar. So, to me, this would leadto the idea that non-fragmentary and complete human virtue would be one that has been made familiar with all aspects of human life, nearly or every situation or scenario. This of course, is impossible, unless person humans operated and were raised in a homogenized manner in which many, if not all, aspects of their development were planned and organized in a manner where no situation or scenario would be umfamiliar territory.
And if Socrates is correct in his statement that attaining a level of virtue to the point that the person embodies 'Virtue' is the ultimate ideal in life, then would a system where all situations and aspects of life are streamlined to condition and make the attaining of such an ideal (Virtue) would be more possible (perhaps made to be a level of 'almost certainty') be a more perfect, moral, and excellent society?
It's an interesting idea. I would say no because it would seem that it would limit the spectrum of human experience and all of its possibilities for something greater than Virtue to ever come into existence. Of course, I cannot make a real case for what the exact benefits of not-limiting the level of experience humans in such a manner because I do not know what could possibly lay beyond Virtue. But I do think that if Virtue becomes the only goal in one's life, it can limit one's fulfillment in one way or another. Which, in turn, leads to another peculiar idea, can virtues, in their use and definition as something that helps one lead a fulfilling life, if practiced to an extreme or in their complete embodiment, be limiting of a human life (and thus not fulfilling)? Hmmm, craziness.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment