Great Virtues (Andre Comte-Sponville)

Exploring how we might build space for philosophy to have an impact on our behaviour in our daily lives, and what that might mean and look like, is the goal of this discussion series that I'd like to share with you all.

There are likely as many ways to approach ethics and morality as there are people, and my approach will be to explore the role of virtues as a possible practical guide using Andre Compte-Sponville's "Small Treatise on Great Virtues" as the root of topics month-by-month: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58496.A_Small_Treatise_on_the_Great_Virtues

While I'll use this book to select topics because it has a great list to get started and Comte-Sponville has done some interesting reflection on the Western tradition of virtue ethics, my goal will not be to argue for whatever he advocates; it will be to use his work as a launch-pad for our conversation so we can explore virtues from many angles and learn from each other. Participants will be expected to have read the applicable chapter from his book to give us all a baseline for common understanding, and beyond that you are more than encouraged to to come at the topic from whatever standpoint you wish. I will open our discussion with a brief summary of Comte-Sponville's chapter, offer questions to fuel dialogue, and moderate as needed.

Up first: Politeness as a Great Virtue on October 25.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!