[lit-ideas] Re: [lit-ideas] RE: [lit-ideas] aretê - Greek for virtue (was: Query)
- From: Judy Evans <judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2004 22:19:00 +0100
WB> Also, a colleague of mine reminded me that "virtue" has to do with the
WB> idea of being manly, 'vir,'
as in virtu in Machiavelli? where fortune is a woman... !
I think arete would be a virtue, not virtue. But indeed (RH) one
might speak of the virtue of an object lying in its use-full-ness.
Arete is not gender specific
and
I don't know anything about Kant!
--
Judy Evans, Cardiff, UK
mailto:judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tuesday, October 5, 2004, 8:35:23 PM, William Ball wrote:
WB> Richard Henninge's comments on the Greek "arete" and its usual
WB> translation as "virtue" are pretty much as I understand it. Beyond that,
WB> I believe it means more specifically, excellence, but more like
WB> "excellence at something." Thus, as I remember from volume I of Jaeger's
WB> PAEDEIA, one would speak of the excellence of the cobbler, or the arete
WB> of the statesman, or the excellence of the arrow on its journey to and
WB> arrival at the target.
WB> When we use that as our understanding, the so-called Socratic enigma of
WB> "arete este episteme" becomes less enigmatic when we understand Socrates
WB> (Plato) to mean "excellence at anything is knowledge [complete] of that
WB> something." Therefore, Aristotle's definition of eudaimonia [vital well
WB> being] becomes "an activity of the psyche in accordance with excellence
WB> at recognizing and practicing "vital well being" over a complete life
WB> with a minimum of external necessities," arete being an internal virtue.
WB> Also, a colleague of mine reminded me that "virtue" has to do with the
WB> idea of being manly, 'vir,' although gender would be hardly relevant
WB> today, except that for some strange reason one usually refers to a woman
WB> as being virtuous, and not usually a man's being so.
WB> But that's as I worked it out up till now and I welcome any comment on
WB> my thoughts, adverse or otherwise.
WB> Kind regards to all,
WB> William Ball
WB> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
WB> ---------------------
WB> =20
WB> Richard notes:
WB> You're probably thinking of "aret=EA," which can mean the quality or
WB> excellence of a thing, and thus, for an arrow, its ability to fly true
WB> and
WB> strike through, for a pitcher its quality or talent for holding liquids,
WB> though part of that is, in a pinch, adaptable to striking (small)
WB> animals
WB> (see American films of the twentios). I mention adaptable because it
WB> appears
WB> that the noun "aret=EA" is derived from a verb meaning to adjust,
WB> originally
WB> in the sense of to tighten, as in clothing, or a belt, bridle and
WB> harnesses
WB> to a field animal for plowing, or in arming for battle. Homer, in the
WB> Iliad
WB> 13:800, describes the Trojans as being "tightened," drawn up in close
WB> ranks,
WB> and therefore very resistant, very strong. The word "aret=EA" can also =
WB> be
WB> applied in a moral sense, a soul can be so composed, a mind so formed,
WB> that
WB> it is "sharp."
WB> The virtue Kant is talking about in the Critique of Practical Reason is
WB> very
WB> similar to this Greek ideal. His virtual revulsion at the inclinations
WB> that
WB> trouble human beings and make them weak, both morally and intellectually
WB> (he
WB> might even add physically), seemed to be the motor driving him in the
WB> direction of the a pr=EDori. The German word for virtue, "Tugend," has =
WB> its
WB> roots in "taugen," meaning that something is usable, is fitting, suited
WB> for
WB> the job it is expected to perform. A worthless person is referred to as
WB> a
WB> "Taugenichts," a "good-for-nothing," and in that you can see how
WB> "virtue"
WB> can be related with a sense of "good," and eventually to the Good in
WB> general. The French, "ar=EAte," (here the circonflexe knows what it is
WB> doing,
WB> before it meant the long =EA, =EAta, not the short e, epsilon [e-psilon,
WB> "pure,
WB> simple, bald e"]), is the divide, the ridge line, the roof top, and
WB> comes
WB> from Latin "arista," the beard of grain, summer--like Wednesday, hump
WB> day?--but, rather, when grain acquires its beard, its "best" (Greek
WB> "aristos," the best) part, its virtue, its quality, its special
WB> "talent,"
WB> its "raison d'=EAtre," that which is eventually gleaned, the thing at =
WB> its
WB> most
WB> useful, what it is "good" for. (For David Ritchie, the "business end" of
WB> a
WB> sword.)
WB> Richard Henninge
WB> University of Mainz
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