Teaching Virture 4/26/2010

 Whoever sent me Hume's Essays instead of the books I requested did me a favor. Second only to The Bible in restoring some sense to have been Hume's moral essays.

I suppose the Bureau of Prisons shall allow me books and paper and ink. I want to follow up an idea of Hume's and assemble a book that aids in the teaching of virtues. I probably need to read Bennett's Book of Virtues, but I do not have a copy. Will the B.O.P.?

[I never did read Bennett's boo. The prison library lacked a copy, and there was much more to read. What I have managed to write on the subject appears here under the label Philosophy. sch 10/9/22.]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have been thinking about an outline. The outline is semi-historical as well as comparative:

1. Hebrew (Jewish up to the Diaspora)
2. Greek
3. Roman
4. Christian
5. Jewish
6. Moslem
7. Hindu
8. Buddhist
9. Japanese - Bushido
10. Confucian
11. Modern Western European

Define what each culture saw as virtuous behavior, why they might have done so, and how each compares to the others.

 I am thinking that finding works that positively depict virtues are harder to find than those showing the failure of virtue. History and biography should provide more positive materials. (Thinking of Roman history and Washington and Jefferson). Would prefer more real world examples of such and such virtues in action.

Could I write such a thing? I see nothing in the job for which I have the skills. Would anyone read it? Ah, now there is the true issue: can I write such a thing so that it is read?

Would you read such a book?

sch