Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Skeleton Of 12,000-Year-Old Shaman Discovered

Skeleton Of 12,000-Year-Old Shaman Discovered



ScienceDaily (Nov. 5, 2008) — The skeleton of a 12,000 year-old Natufian Shaman has been discovered in northern Israel by archaeologists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The burial is described as being accompanied by "exceptional" grave offerings - including 50 complete tortoise shells, the pelvis of a leopard and a human foot. The shaman burial is thought to be one of the earliest known from the archaeological record and the only shaman grave in the whole region.

Dr. Leore Grosman of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, who is heading the excavation at the Natufian site of Hilazon Tachtit in the western Galilee, says that the elaborate and invested interment rituals and method used to construct and seal the grave suggest that this woman had a very high standing within the community. Details of the discovery were published in the PNAS journal on November 3, 2008.

What was found in the shaman's grave?

The grave contained body parts of several animals that rarely occur in Natufian assemblages. These include fifty tortoises, the near-compete pelvis of a leopard, the wing tip of a golden eagle, tail of a cow, two marten skulls and the forearm of a wild boar which was directly aligned with the woman's left humerus.

A human foot belonging to an adult individual who was substantially larger than the interred woman was also found in the grave.

Dr. Grosman believes this burial is consistent with expectations for a shaman's grave. Burials of shamans often reflect their role in life (i.e., remains of particular animals and contents of healing kits). It seems that the woman was perceived as being in close relationship with these animal spirits.

Method of burial

The body was buried in an unusual position. It was laid on its side with the spinal column, pelvis and right femur resting against the curved southern wall of the oval-shaped grave. The legs were spread apart and folded inward at the knees.

According to Dr. Grosman, ten large stones were placed directly on the head, pelvis and arms of the buried individual at the time of burial. Following decomposition of the body, the weight of the stones caused disarticulation of some parts of the skeleton, including the separation of the pelvis from the vertebral column.

Speculating why the body was held in place in such a way and covered with rocks, Dr. Grosman suggests it could have been to protect the body from being eaten by wild animals or because the community was trying to keep the shaman and her spirit inside the grave.

Analysis of the bones show that the shaman was 45 years old, petite and had an unnatural, asymmetrical appearance due to a spinal disability that would have affected the woman's gait, causing her to limp or drag her foot.

Fifty tortoises

Most remarkably, the woman was buried with 50 complete tortoise shells. The inside of the tortoises were likely eaten as part of a feast surrounding the interment of the deceased. High representation of limb bones indicates that most tortoise remains were thrown into the grave along with the shells after consumption.

The recovery of the limb bones also indicates that entire tortoises, not only their shells, were transported to the cave for the burial. The collection of 50 living tortoises at the time of burial would have required a significant investment, as these are solitary animals. Alternatively, these animals could have been collected and confined by humans for a period preceding the event.

Shaman graves in archaeology

According to Dr. Grosman, the burial of the woman is unlike any burial found in the Natufian or the preceding Paleolithic periods. "Clearly a great amount of time and energy was invested in the preparation, arrangement, and sealing of the grave." This was coupled with the special treatment of the buried body.

Shamans are universally recorded cross-culturally in hunter-gatherer groups and small-scale agricultural societies. Nevertheless, they have rarely been documented in the archaeological record and none have been reported from the Paleolithic of Southwest Asia.

The Natufians existed in the Mediterranean region of the Levant 15,000 to 11,500 years ago. Dr. Grosman suggests this grave could point to ideological shifts that took place due to the transition to agriculture in the region at that time.

Natufian grave site

Hilazon Tachtit is a small cave site next to Carmiel that functioned first and foremost as a Natufian burial ground for at least 28 individuals representing an array of ages.

The collective graves found at the site likely served as primary burial areas that were later re-opened to remove skulls and long bones for secondary burial – a practice common to the Natufian and the following Neolithic cultures.

Only three partially complete primary burials were recovered at Hilazon Tachtit. One was a skeleton of a young adult (sex unknown) reposed in a flexed position on its right side with both hands under his face. The scattered bones of a newborn were found in the area of the missing pelvis and it appears that the newborn and the young adult, possibly the mother, were buried together.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Worship Site Predates Zeus


By Tuan C. Nguyen, LiveScience Staff Writer: 23 January 2008


Ancient pottery found at an altar used by ancient Greeks to worship Zeus was actually in use at least a millennium earlier, new archeological data suggest.

The pottery shards were discovered during an excavation last summer near the top of Mt. Lykaion in southern Greece.

The finding, which dates back to 3000 B.C., indicates that the tradition of divinity worship on the site is very ancient and may even pre-date the introduction of Zeus into the Greek world, said David Gilman Romano, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and co-director of the excavation project.

"We don’t yet know how the altar was first used, and whether it was used in connection with natural phenomena such as wind, rain, light or earthquakes, possibly to worship some kind of divinity male or female or a personification representing forces of nature,” Romano said.

A rock crystal seal bearing an image of a bull, of probable Late Minoan times (1500 - 1400 B.C.), also was found on the altar, suggesting an early connection between the Minoan isle of Crete and Arcadia.

Early analysis on various bones recovered from the site has shown they belonged to animals, not humans. Ancient texts had mentioned human sacrifice being practiced at the altar of Zeus, but so far, no evidence of this has been found.

The mountaintop altar is known as one of the mythological birthplaces of Zeus. A meadow below the mountain featured a racetrack, stadium and buildings once used to host an athletic festival that rivaled the original Olympic games, held at nearby Olympia.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Herculaneum Yields Rare Prize


'Unique' Roman throne found at Villa dei Papiri

(ANSA) - Naples, December 5, 2007 - The ancient Roman city of Herculaneum near Naples has yielded its most precious prize in years - a richly carved wood-and-ivory throne.

The discovery in the city's famed Villa dei Papiri ''is the first original throne from the Roman era that has been preserved for us,'' said Pompeii Superintendent Pietro Giovanni Guzzi.

''Until now we have only seen examples of this kind of throne in pictures, like the one in a Renaissance villa in Rome in which Aphrodite is shown sitting on one,'' he said. ''It is an absolutely exceptional find''.

Guzzo said the throne's inlaid marble reliefs depicting figures celebrating the ancient Greek cult of Attis were also ''unique'' in themselves.

Herculaneum, the lesser-known of the two cities buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD, has an advantage over its more famous neighbour in that the hot mud that encased it allowed fragile organic matter like wood and fabrics to survive.

The partially excavated Villa dei Papiri is at the centre of a row between those who want to accelerate a hunt for lost classics and conservation experts who believe haste could in fact ruin the site. Best-selling British thriller writer Robert Harris is among those who think speed is of the essence if many unique papyri are not to be lost.

The 'Fatherland' author, whose last novel 'Pompeii' weaves the wonders of Roman aqueducts into a pre-eruption whodunnit, thinks great works lost to posterity could be under the villa.

The 250m-long building, the largest and most sumptuous villa found outside Rome, contains a huge swimming pool and thermal baths. It is thought to have belonged to Lucius Calpurnius Piso, father of Calpurnia, Julius Caesar's wife.

The villa, found in the 18th century, half-buried again, and partially re-excavated in 1985, has already yielded some 1,800 papyri, half of which have been deciphered.

Most of them are the work of 1st century BC Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, said by some to have taught the great Latin poet Virgil.

Harris and others think there are many more papyri under the villa, the stuff of treasure hunters' dreams: the original version of Virgil's masterpiece the Aeneid, perhaps, most of Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus - and maybe even Aristotle's book on comedy that was the crux of Umberto Eco's cowled skullduggery classic The Name of the Rose.

Along with the Oxford-based Herculaneum Society, Harris is pressing for fresh digs at the site in the hope of finding such buried riches.

But Andrew Wallace-Hadrill of the British School at Rome, a professor backed by the Pompeii archaeological superintendency and the Packard Humanities Institute, disagrees.

''It's great to compile a wish list of lost masterpieces and hope they're down there. The thing is, what if they aren't?'' he said recently.

''The chances are you dive in and find something pretty dull - more relatively obscure Epicurean philosophers, for instance.'' Wallace-Hadrill said the immediate challenge is to save the site and give its grungy modern surroundings a major makeover.

Herculaneum is in a ''critical'' state, he said.

''We must at least ensure it survives for the next few years before considering further digs''.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

'Mythical Roman cave' unearthed

'Mythical Roman cave' unearthed
Probes revealed a ceiling with a white eagle at the centre

Italian archaeologists say they have found the long-lost underground grotto where ancient Romans believed a female wolf suckled the city's twin founders.

The cave believed to be the Lupercal was found near the ruins of Emperor Augustus' palace on the Palatine hill.

The 8m (26ft) high cave decorated with shells, mosaics and marble was found during restoration work on the palace.

According to mythology Romulus and Remus were nursed by a she-wolf after being left on the River Tiber's banks.

The twin sons of the god Mars and priestess Rhea Silvia are said to have later founded Rome on the Palatine in 753 BC.

This could reasonably be the place bearing witness to the myth of Rome - the legendary cave where the she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus
Francesco Rutelli
Italian Culture Minister

The brothers ended up fighting over who should be in charge of the city, a power struggle which ended only after Romulus killed his brother.

In Roman times a popular festival called the Lupercalia was held annually on 15 February.

Young nobles called Luperci, taking their name from the place of the wolf (lupa), ran from the Lupercal around the bounds of the Palatine in what is believed to have been a purification ritual.

Naked, except for the skins of goats that had been sacrificed that day, they would strike women they met on the hands with strips of sacrificial goatskin to promote fertility.

'Astonishing history'

Presenting the discovery, Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli said archaeologists were "reasonably certain" that the newly unearthed cave could be the Lupercal.

A statue showing the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus
According to myth, Romulus and Remus were nursed by a she-wolf

"This could reasonably be the place bearing witness to the myth of Rome, one of the most well-known cities in the world - the legendary cave where the she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus, saving them from death," he said.

"Italy and Rome never cease to astonish the world with continual archaeological and artistic discoveries, and it is incredible to think that we have finally found a mythical site which, by our doing so, has become a real place."

The ancient cave was found 16m (52ft) underground in a previously unexplored area during restoration work on the palace of Augustus, the first Roman emperor.

Exploration of the cavity was hampered, however, by fears that it might collapse and damage the foundations of the surrounding ruins.

Explorations were hampered by fears the cave might collapse

Archaeologists therefore used endoscopes and laser scanners to study it, ascertaining that the circular structure was 8m (26ft) high and 7.5m (24ft) in diameter.

A camera probe later sent into the cave revealed a ceiling covered in shells, mosaics and coloured marble, with a white eagle at the centre.

"You can imagine our amazement - we almost screamed," said Professor Giorgio Croci, the head of the archaeological team working on the restoration of the Palatine, told reporters.

"It is clear that Augustus... wanted his residence to be built in a place which was sacred for the city of Rome," he added.

The Palatine hill is covered in palaces and other ancient monuments, from the 8th Century BC remains of Rome's first buildings to a mediaeval fortress and Renaissance villas.

After being closed for decades due to risk of collapse, parts of the hill will re-open to the public in February after a 12m-euro ($17.7m) restoration programme.

Map and cross-section showing cave under the Palatine hill

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Ancient Shrine to The Graces might be Found!

Clay Pots Found at Ancient Greece Shrine

May 23, 2007

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Archaeologists in central Greece have discovered thousands of miniature clay pots and statuettes in the ruins of an ancient sanctuary possibly dedicated to the Three Graces, officials said on Wednesday. In volume, it is one of the richest finds in recent years.

Excavations near Orchomenos, about 80 miles northwest of Athens, revealed sparse remains of retaining walls from a small rural shrine, a Culture Ministry statement said.

But a rock-carved shaft was found to contain thousands of pottery offerings, dating from the early 5th century B.C. until at least the 3rd century B.C, the statement said.

The finds included miniature pots, clay figurines of women and animals, as well as clay busts and lamps.

"The identity of the deities worshipped there is not yet clear, but it is certain that they were goddesses associated with plant growth and fertility," the ministry statement said.

It said a famous sanctuary of the Three Graces _ deities of growth and beauty _ was known to have stood in ancient Orchomenos, and one of the offerings was inscribed with the name of Eurynome, mother of the Graces.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Parrotstotle's Brain

The following sentences were used to program Parrotstotle for yesterday's class. Parrotstotle is only a rough draft, and i've already figured out ways to re-write these sentences so it can 'understand' them better . . . and also consider that my first 'translations' are sometimes off the mark and need fixin'. In any case, this is what I got out of Book VI, including a smattering of stuff from other books, plus some Greek background info I gave Parrotstotle for a reference.


Answerpad, the program-brain within Parrotstotle, comes with a basic repartee vocabulary which seeks to fake actual idle conversation, and it also comes with math skills up to and including algebra, as well as some general encyclopedic facts. Answerpad/Parrotstotle is a true attempt at an artificial intelligence program in that it tries to create new sentences. Most AI programs, and that includes all mainstream AIs, seek only to fake an intelligent response -- every word is a canned reply, scripted and unchangeable. There is absolutely no intelligence on that path, and never will be. Answerpad/Parrotstotle learns and tries to increase its knowledge on its own by creating new sentences out of words & phrases within its knowledge-base. That path might lead to intelligence, after all . . . that's how we do it.


The decisions of a practically wise person can be justified by a chain of reasoning


Neither good theoretical reasoning nor good practical reasoning moves in a circle


True thinking always presupposes and progresses in linear fashion from proper starting points


Practical reasoning always presupposes that one has some end, some goal one is trying to achieve, and the task of reasoning is determine how that goal is to be accomplished


Virtue makes the goal right, practical wisdom the things leading to it


In every practical discipline, the expert aims at a mark and uses right reason to avoid the twin extremes of excess and deficiency


It is strange if someone thinks that politics or practical wisdom is the most excellent kind of knowledge, unless man is the best thing in the cosmos


Theoretical wisdom produces happiness by being a part of virtue


Practical Wisdom looks to the development of Theoretical Wisdom, and issues commands for its sake


Exercising theoretical wisdom is a more important component of our ultimate goal than practical wisdom


The happiest kind of life is that of a philosopher


The virtue of magnificence is superior to mere liberality, and similarly greatness of soul is a higher excellence than the ordinary virtue that has to do with honor


Someone who is greatly honored by his community and commands large financial resources is in a position to exercise a higher order of ethical virtue than is someone who receives few honors and has little property


The grandest expression of ethical virtue requires great political power, because it is the political leader who is in a position to do the greatest amount of good for the community


No set of rules or laws, no matter how long and detailed, obviates the need for deliberative and ethical virtue


Good things are commonly divided into three classes, external or worldly Goods, Goods of the body, and Goods of the soul


Goods of the Soul are Goods in the highest and fullest sense


While goods of the body and external goods are needed for complete happiness, they are not capable of giving happiness alone



Living well consists in those lifelong activities that actualize the virtues of the rational part of the soul


It is clear that in order to be happy one must also possess such goods as friends, wealth, and power


Man's happiness is endangered if one is severely lacking in certain advantages


Man's virtuous activity will be to some extent diminished or defective, if one lacks an adequate supply of other goods


Someone who is friendless, childless, powerless, weak, and ugly will not be able to find many opportunities for virtuous activity over a long period of time


Someone who is friendless, childless, powerless, weak, and ugly will accomplish little in life, and what he can accomplish will not be of great merit


To some extent living well requires good fortune


Happenstance can rob even the most excellent human beings of happiness


The highest good is virtuous activity


Virtuous activity is not something that comes to us by chance


Although we must be fortunate enough to have parents and fellow citizens who help us become virtuous, we ourselves share much of the responsibility for acquiring and exercising the virtues


In order to profit from study of ethics, one must already have been brought up in good habits


Particular virtues, like courage and justice, are components of happiness


Aristotle rejects the existence of Plato's forms in general and the form of the Good in particular


Aristotle rejects Plato's idea that in order to become fully virtuous one must see all branches of knowledge as a unified whole


Students of ethics do not need to engage in a specialized study of the natural world, or mathematics, or eternal and changing objects


Ethics an autonomous field of study




There are two kinds of virtue: those that pertain to the part of the soul that engages in reasoning, meaning virtues of mind, and those that pertain to the part of the soul that cannot itself reason but is nonetheless capable of following reason, meaning virtues of character


Intellectual virtues are divided into two sorts: those that pertain to theoretical reasoning, and those that pertain to practical thinking


All free males are born with the potential to become ethically virtuous and practically wise


To become ethically virtuous and practically wise you must go through two stages: during your childhood, you must develop the proper habits, and then, when your reason is fully developed, you must acquire practical wisdom


Ethical virtue is fully developed only when it is combined with practical wisdom


A form of ethical virtue emerges in us during childhood


When we are repeatedly placed in situations that call for appropriate actions and emotions we learn ethical virtue


The virtuous person takes pleasure in exercising his intellectual skills


The virtuous person does not long to do something that he regards as shameful


The virtuous person is not greatly distressed at having to give up a pleasure that he realizes he should forego


When the virtuous person has decided what to do, he does not have to contend with internal pressures to act otherwise


Evil people are driven by desires for domination and luxury


Evil people always desire more than they have, which leaves them dissatisfied and full of self-hatred


Aristotle places those who suffer from internal disorders into one of three categories: continence, incontinence, vicious


Ethical virtue is a disposition induced by our habits to have appropriate feelings




Defective states of character dispose us to have tendencies toward inappropriate feelings


Aristotle rejects Plato's assertion that virtue is nothing but a kind of knowledge


Aristotle rejects Plato's assertion that vice is nothing but a lack of knowledge


Every ethical virtue is a condition intermediate between two other states, one involving excess, and the other deficiency


In respect to the states of deficiency and excess the virtues are no different from technical skills as every skilled worker knows how to avoid excess and deficiency


The Mean is to be determined in a way that takes into account the particular circumstances of the individual


There is no universal rule on where to locate the Mean for any specific person


Finding the mean in any given situation is not a mechanical or thoughtless procedure, but requires a full and detailed acquaintance with the circumstances


The virtuous man should sometimes have strong feelings, but only when such feelings are called for by our situation


Anger should never reach the point at which it undermines Reason


Our passions should always fall short of the extreme point at which we would lose control


Every virtue is a state that lies between two vices, one of excess and the other of deficiency


Whenever a virtuous person chooses to perform a virtuous act, he can be described as aiming at an act that is in some way or other intermediate between alternatives that he rejects


The common passions are sometimes appropriate


It is essential that every human being learn how to master the common passions


It is essential that every human being experience the common passions in the right way at the right times


Emotions are valuable components of any well-lived human life when they are experienced properly


When the good person chooses to act virtuously, he does so for the sake of the beautiful, the noble, or the fine


Ethical activity has an attraction that is comparable to the beauty of well-crafted artifacts


Ethical activity has an attraction that is comparable to poetry, music, and drama


Every craft tries to produce a work from which nothing should be taken away and to which nothing further should be added


A craft product is not merely useful when well designed and produced by a good craftsman, but also has such elements as balance, proportion and harmony


Balance, proportion and harmony are the properties that help make a craft product useful


A well-executed project that expresses the ethical virtues will not merely be advantageous but noble and beautiful as well


The balance a well-executed project has is part of what makes it advantageous


The person learning to acquire the virtues must develop a love of doing what is beautiful and noble


The person learning to acquire the virtues must develop a strong aversion to things not beautiful and not noble


The decisions of a practically wise person are not mere intuitions


Aristotle was born in 384 BCE at Stagirus


Stagirus is a Greek colony and seaport on the coast of Thrace


Aristotle's father is Nichomachus


Nichomachus was court physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia


Aristotle had a long association with the Macedonian Court


Proxenus sent the 17-year old Aristotle to Athens


Proxenus was Aristotle's Guardian when Aristotle was young


Athens is the intellectual center of the world


Aristotle joined the Academy and studied under Plato for twenty years


Aristotle left Athens for the court of his friend Hermeas, ruler of Atarneus and Assos in Mysia


Aristole married Pythias, the niece of the King Hermeas


In later life Aristotle was married a second time to a woman named Herpyllis, who bore him a son, Nichomachus


Hermeas was overtaken by the Persians three years after Aristotle went to live there, and Aristotle then went to Mytilene


At the invitation of Philip of Macedonia Aristotle became the tutor of 13 year old Alexander


Aristotle set up his own school at a place called the Lyceum


When teaching at the Lyceum, Aristotle had a habit of walking about as he discoursed


Aristotle's followers became known in later years as the peripatetics, meaning, to walk about


Aristotle devoted thirteen years in Lyceum to his teaching and composing his philosophical treatises


Sappho is a poet


Aristotle is a teacher


Socrates is a teacher


Plato is a teacher


Socrates taught Plato


Plato taught Aristotle


Ed is a student


Alexander the Great is from Macedonia in ancient Greece


Alexander the Great has a horse named Bucephalus


Alexander the Great was taught by Aristotle


Alexander the Great like eating food from Thessaloniki


The Good is that at which all things aim


We do what we do for a reason


Action equals Choice


Every Action is said to have an aim


Every Action is said to have a goal


Every Action is said to have a completion


Every Choice is said to have an aim


Every Choice is said to have a goal


Every Choice is said to have a completion


All thinking is either theoretical or practical


If we did not think that doing something would bring us some good we would not do the thing


If we did not think that doing something would get us into a better position we would not do the thing


If we did not think that doing something would prevent pain we would not do the thing


If we did not think that doing something would prevent sadness we would not do the thing


If we did not think that doing something would prevent death we would not do the thing


We do things for fun


We do things for survival


We do things to make others feel good, or not


We do things to help others, or not


We do things to get money


We do things to get power


We do things to get fame


We do things to get learning


We do some things for the sake of other things


We seek money in order to buy things we need or like


We like the things we buy either in themselves or for another reason


We seek status in the eyes of others


Eudaimonia is the highest good


Eudaimonia is happiness in living well and doing well


Eudaimonia is human happiness


Eudaimonia is that for the sake of which all other things are done


Eudaimonia is final and self-sufficient


Eudaimonia is pursued for its own sake


Eudaimonia by itself makes life desirable


Eudaimonia by itself makes life not deficient in anything


Eudaimonia is an activity of soul in accordance with virtue or excellence


We share certain functions with all life forms


Nutrition is a function of all life forms


Respiration is a function of all life forms


Growth is a function of all life forms


We share some functions with some life forms


We share the function of movement with some life forms


We share the function of appetites with some life forms


We share the function of sensation with some life forms


Certain functions are unique to humans


Certain functions eiher make humans human, or reflect what makes humans human


Uniquely human functions are those of the rational element


Uniquely human functions are those related to reasoning and choice


The proper function of a human consists in an activity of the Soul in conformity with a Rational Principle


A Rational Principle is a Source of Reasoning


When we speak of the function of something, we mean the way it works when it functions correctly


When we speak of the function of something, we mean the way it works when it functions best


When we speak of the function of something, we mean the way it works when it functions excellently


The function of a human is not merely using reasoning any way we feel like at the moment


The function of a human is using and acting on reasoning well


Goodness of intellect has two supreme forms: Theoretical and Practical Wisdom


Theoretical Wisdom apprehends the eternal laws of the universe, has no direct relation to human conduct


Modern science questions the boundlessness of the universe


Science is the union of Knowledge and Intuition


Knowledge is a conception concerning universals and Necessary matter


There are two parts of the Soul which have Reason


Art admits of degrees of excellence, but Practical Wisdom does not


In Art he who goes wrong purposely is preferable to him who does so unwittingly


Pericles is a Practically Wise man


Those who are skilled in domestic management or civil government are deemed to have Practical Wisdom


The three angles of every rectilineal triangle are equal to two right angles


Practical Wisdom must be a state conjoined with reason having human good for its object


There are, of course, certain First Principles in all trains of demonstrative reasoning


The faculties whereby we always attain truth are Knowledge, Practical Wisdom, Science, and Intuition


The faculties whereby we are never deceived are Knowledge, Practical Wisdom, Science, and Intuition


Science must mean the most accurate of all Knowledge


Science must be equivalent to Intuition and Knowledge


Science is Knowledge of the most precious objects


Men must allow that the Scientific is the same always, but the Practically Wise varies


Practical Wisdom is a faculty of forethought respecting one's own subsistence


Anexagoras and Thales are called Scientific, but not Practically Wise


Anexagoras and Thales are not Practically Wise


Anexagoras and Thales are Scientific


Anexagoras and Thales are ignorant of what concerns themselves


Anexagoras and Thales know things quite out of the ordinary


Anexagoras and Thales know things that are wonderful


Anexagoras and Thales know things that are very fine


Anexagoras and Thales know many useless things because they do not seek after what is good for them as men


Practical Wisdom is employed upon human matters


Practical Wisdom in action are objects of deliberation


Deliberating well is most peculiarly the work of the man who possesses Practical Wisdom


Practical Wisdom does not consist only in a knowledge of general principles


To exercise Practical Wisdom a knowledge of general principles is necessary that one should know the particular details of the situation


Action is concerned with details


Practical Wisdom in the most proper sense has for its object the interest of the Individual


The man who knows and busies himself about his own concerns merely is the man of Practical Wisdom


Men who extend their solicitude to society at large are considered meddlesome


The generality of mankind seek their own good and hold that this is their proper business


The notion has arisen that men that look toward their own self-interest are the Practically-Wise


It is possible that the good of the Individual cannot be secured independently of connection with a family or a community


The way a man should manage his own affairs is sometimes not quite plain


It is not thought that a young man can come to be possessed of Practical Wisdom


Practical Wisdom has for its object particular facts, which come to be known from experience


Young men usually do not have much experience


Young men usually do not have much Practical Wisdom


Practical Wisdom accumulates over time


Practical Wisdom is not Knowledge


Practical Wisdom and Intuition are opposed


Practical Wisdom is concerned with the ultimate particular fact


The ultimate particular fact cannot be realised by Knowledge


The ultimate particular fact can be realised by Sense


No rectilineal figure can be contained by less than three lines


A triangle is the ultimate geometric figure


Intuition consists of those principles which cannot be proved by reasoning


Intuition is Sense


Practical Wisdom is concerned with the ultimate particular fact which cannot be realised by Knowledge but by Sense


The acts of inquiring and deliberating are different


Deliberating is a kind of inquiring


Good Counsel is not Knowledge


Good Counsel is a kind of deliberation


The man who is deliberating is inquiring and calculating


Good Counsel is not Happy Conjecture


Good Counsel is not Opinion of any kind


It is a common saying that one should execute speedily what has been resolved upon in deliberation, but deliberate slowly


Happy Conjecture is independent of reasoning, and a rapid operation


Quick perception of causes is not Good Counsel


Quick perception of causes is a species of Happy Conjecture


He who deliberates ill goes wrong


He who deliberates well does so rightly


It is clear that Good Counsel is rightness of some kind


Good Counsel is not Knowledge or Opinion


Knowledge cannot be called right because it cannot be wrong


Rightness of Opinion is Truth


Good Counsel is not independent of Reason


Opinion is not a process of inquiry but is already a definite assertion


Whosoever deliberates, whether well or ill, is engaged in inquiry and calculation


Good Counsel is a Rightness of deliberation


Rightness is an equivocal term


It is possible to deliberate rightly in one sense, but attain a great evil


What we consider a virtuous Rightness we plainly do not mean Rightness of any kind whatever


To have deliberated well is thought to be good


Good Counsel is Rightness of deliberation of such a nature as is apt to attain good


You may get success by false reasoning, and hit upon the right effect though not through right means


When you get what you ought but not through proper means it is done by Bad Counsel


One man may hit on a thing after long deliberation, another quickly


Good Counsel must have its Rightness be with reference to what is expedient and must have a proper end in view


Good Counsel must pursue Rightness in a right manner and in a right time


One may deliberate well either generally or towards some particular End


Good counsel in the general is that which goes right towards that which is the End, in a general way of consideration


Good counsel in the particular is that which goes right towards some particular End


Deliberating well is a quality of men possessed of Practical Wisdom


Good Counsel must be Rightness in respect of what conduces to a given End, of which Practical Wisdom is the true conception


Judiciousness is neither entirely identical with Knowledge or Opinion, nor is it any one specific science


The object of medical science is things wholesome


The object of geometry is magnitude


The objects of geometry do not come into being by chance


Geometry has things of which a man might doubt and deliberate


The objects of Judiciousness do not always exist


The objects of Judiciousness are not always immutable


The objects of Judiciousness do not come into being by pure chance


The objects of Judiciousness and Practical Wisdom are the same but different


Practical Wisdom is different from geometry because it has the capacity for commanding and taking the initiative


Practical Wisdom has as its End what one should do or not do


Judiciousness is apt to decide upon suggestions


Judiciousness is neither having Practical Wisdom, nor attaining it


Judiciousness consists in employing the Opinionative faculty in judging concerning those things which come within the province of Practical Wisdom


Judiciousness is judging well


Judiciousness and Learning are synonymous


The equitable man has a tendency to make allowances


Making allowances in certain cases is equitable


All matters of Moral Action belong to the class of particulars, otherwise called Extremes


Judiciousness is concerned with matters of Moral Actions


Judiciousness is concerned with Extremes


Intuition takes in the Extremes at both ends


The first and last terms must be taken in not by Reasoning but by Intuition


Intuition is of two kinds, first and last


That which belongs to strict demonstrative reasonings takes in the immutable and Necessary first terms


That which is employed in practical matters takes in the Extreme, the Contingent, and the minor Premiss


The minor Premisses are the source of the Final Cause


Universals are made up out of Particulars


Sense is Practical Intuition


No man is thought to be Scientific by nature


Intuition is thought to be simply a gift of nature


Judiciousness is thought to be simply a gift of nature


Intuition is both the Beginning and End


Intuition is both the Beginning and End, because the proofs are based upon the one kind of Extremes and concern the other


The old and the Practically Wise see aright, having gained their power of moral vision from experience


One should pay attention to the undemonstrable dicta and opinions of the skilful


The nature and objects of Practical Wisdom and Science belong each to a different part of the Soul


Science concerns itself with none of the causes of human happiness


Science has nothing to do with producing anything


Practical Wisdom is concerned with with producing things


Practical Wisdom is concerned with the causes of human happiness


Moral Virtues are Habits


Practical Wisdom has in its province those things which are just and honourable, and good for man


We are not more apt to be healthy merely from knowing the art of medicine


We are not more apt to be in good condition merely from knowing the art of training


Knowing what is Good does not by itself make a Practically Wise man


Becoming Good is what makes a Practically Wise man


The Wisdom of a Good will be no use to those that are good


The Wisdom of a Good will be no use to those that are not good


Though we wish to be healthy we do not set about learning the art of healing


Whatever produces results rules in each matter


Whatever produces results takes directs the action in each matter


Healthiness makes health


Science makes Happiness


Man's work as Man is accomplished by virtue of Practical Wisdom and Moral Virtue


Moral Virtue gives the right aim and direction


Practical Wisdom is the right means to attainment


The nutritive principle of the Soul has no Excellence because nothing is in its power to do or leave undone


Men may do things in themselves just and yet not be just men


When men do what the laws require of them not, but for the sake of the things themselves, they are not acting justly


Men can do what they ought and all that the good man should do, yet still live unjustly


It seems that to be a good man one must do each act in a particular frame of mind


It seems that to be a good man one must do each act from Moral Choice


It seems that to be a good man one must do each act for the sake of the things themselves


It is Virtue which makes the Moral Choice right


There is a certain faculty commonly named Cleverness


Cleverness is of such a nature as to be able to do and attain whatever conduces to any given purpose


If the purpose of Cleverness be a good one the faculty is praiseworthy


If the purpose of Cleverness be a bad one the faculty implies the willingness to do anything


The Practically Wise are Clever in a good sense


Those who can and will do anything are Clever in a bad sense


Practical Wisdom is not identical with Cleverness


Practical Wisdom is the Eye of the Soul


Practical Wisdom does not attain its proper state without goodness


Vice distorts Moral Vision


Vice causes men to be deceived in respect of practical principles


A man cannot be Practically Wise without being Good


Virtue may be divided into Natural Virtue and Matured Virtue


Natural Virtue and Matured Virtue bear to each other a relation similar to that which Practical Wisdom bears to Cleverness


Natural Virtue and Matured Virtue bear to each other a relation not of identity but resemblance


Men hold that each of the Moral Dispositions attach to us all somehow by Nature


We have natural dispositions towards Justice immediately from our birth


We have natural dispositions towards Self-Mastery immediately from our birth


We have natural dispositions towards Courage immediately from our birth


We seek Goodness in its highest sense as something distinct from Jusatice, Self-Mastery and Courage


We seek Goodness in its highest sense as something distinct from Jusatice


We seek Goodness in its highest sense as something distinct from Self-Mastery


We seek Goodness in its highest sense as something distinct from Courage


Justice is plainly hurtful unless combined with an intellectual element


Self-Mastery is plainly hurtful unless combined with an intellectual element


Courage is plainly hurtful unless combined with an intellectual element


A strong body destitute of sight must, if set in motion, fall violently because it has no sight


The Natural State of Virtue will be Virtue in the highest sense when it is combined with the intellectual element


The Natural State of Virtue not combined with the intellectual element is like a strong body without sight


The Natural State of Virtue not combined with the intellectual element can be hurtful


The Natural State of Virtue not combined with the intellectual element can be Vice


The Natural State of Virtue not combined with the intellectual element is not the Mean


Matured Virtue cannot be formed without Practical Wisdom


Some say that all the Virtues are merely intellectual Practical Wisdom


Socrates was partly right in his inquiry into the Virtues, and partly wrong


Socrates was wrong in that he thought all the Virtues were merely intellectual Practical Wisdom


Socrates was right in saying the Virtues were not independent of Practical Wisdom


Save memorySave memory.


Ethics, as viewed by Aristotle, is an attempt to find out our chief end or highest good.


Ethics is an attempt to find out our chief end or highest good.


The human soul has an irrational element which is shared with the animals.


The most primitive irrational element is the vegetative faculty which is responsible for nutrition and growth.


Most moral virtues, and not just courage, are to be understood as falling at the mean between two accompanying vices.


Most Moral Virtues are to be understood as falling at the Mean between two accompanying vices.


The prominent virtue is high-mindedness.


Justice is used both in a general and in a special sense.


Distributive justice hands out honors and rewards according to the merits of the recipients.


The idea of morality is given by the faculty of moral insight.


Moral weakness of the will results in someone does what is wrong.


Pleasure is not to be identified with Good.


We wouldn't do things for fun if we did not think that fun was in some way a good thing


We wouldn't do things for survival if we did not think that survival was in some way a good thing


When we talk about human happiness perhaps we need to look at the function of a human


When we talk about human happiness perhaps we need to look at the specific activities and capacities that make humans human


The functions of a human Aristotle has in mind are the things we use to get what we want and need, and the activities we do in order to live as humans


It is precisely through our specifically human functioning that choice is possible as we know it


The question of happiness can only arise through the function of uniquely human attributes


The proper function of a human to live a certain kind of life, and this kind of life is an activity of soul and consists in actions performed in conjunction with the Rational Element


A function is well performed when it is performed in accordance with the excellence appropriate to it


The good of a human is an activity of soul in conformity with excellence or virtue


It is through reasoning, conscious choice, understanding and evaluating the consequences of our actions, and learning how to put our choices into action effectively that we will be able to do as much as we can to achieve our goals


Happiness is an activity of soul in accordance with virtue or excellence


If our reasoning is poorly developed or poorly used, we won't be able to deduce how to achieve the results we desire


If our reasoning is poorly developed or poorly used, we may make disastrous choices that were avoidable


If our reasoning is poorly developed or poorly used, things will almost never turn out as we think they will


People distinguish 2 kinds of virtue or excellence: intellectual virtues and moral or ethical virtues


Intellectual virtues are those such as Theoretical Wisdom, Understanding, and Practical Wisdom


Moral or ethical virtues are those such as Courage, Generosity, Self-Control, Moderation, and Justice


Virtue is excellence


Virtues seem to be developed by means of habit


Virtues are not inborn


The capacity to develop virtues is inborn in all of us


All habits do not impart virtue


There are habits that work against virtue


If we develop the habit of never trying anything new or unknown, we will not learn certain kinds of courage


If we develop the habit of paying no attention to money or to other people's needs, we are unlikely to become generous


Theoretical wisdom is wisdom involving knowledge of theories, among other things, as described in the Metaphysics


Aristotle suggests that we become virtuous by performing virtuous acts, or by acting virtuous


Aristotle does not mean that merely happening to perform any virtuous action makes you virtuous


Some awareness and skill are involved in habituating virtue


A man is not literate if he can copy letters that someone else wrote, while not knowing how to read the letters into words and sentences


A man is not virtuous if he did something virtuous without knowing that it was virtuous


A man is not virtuous if he did something virtuous because he was told to do it


A man is not virtuous if he did something virtuous because he was forced to do it


Being morally virtuous or excellent requires more than simply doing the right thing


Doing the right thing in a certain way, for certain reasons, is necesary in order to have true excellence or virtue


You must know what you are doing in order to perform an act of virtue


You must choose to act the way you do in order to perform an act of virtue


You must choose to act this way or to do this thing for its own sake in order to perform an act of virtue


An act of virtue must spring from a firm and unchangeable character or habit


You are not being courageous if you are acting only to impress people


You are not being courageous if you would not do the same thing if no one was watching


You have not acted with moral excellence if you acted on a whim


You have not acted with moral excellence if you simply did what your friends were doing without considering whether this was an appropriate thing to do, and why


You must try to be consistent in order to be virtuous, and if that turns out badly, you must try to understand why


Virtue develops as a result of three factors: nature, habit and reason


Virtue of character is not just knowledge, but involves choice of what is noble


Virtue involves both the rational and irrational parts of the soul


A human first of all strives to exist


Humans are pleased by things that accord with their nature


Humans shun those things that are contrary to their nature


Humans strive for health, pleasure and other natural advantages


The beginnings of Right Action come from concern to obtain the things that are pleasing to human nature, and hence so do the beginnings of virtue


Virtue is correct and systematic understanding resulting in correct choice of natural advantages


We find the Goods of the body choiceworthy for their own sake


Goods of the body are those such as health, strength and beauty


We find the Goods of the Soul choiceworthy for their own sake, without an eye to advantage


Virtue turns towards itself and contemplates that it itself is much more something according with Nature than the bodily virtues


Virtue turns towards itself in the sense that it involves not just consistently Right Action but also an understanding of the proper value of virtue


The virtuous person must value his own virtuous state more than the results it produces


Appreciating the value of virtue is the culminating point of rational development


Virtue, which is a Good of the Soul, is more valuable than bodily goods


Virtue and the exercise of rationality are not the only aims of a virtuous persons


The virtuous person will regard both bodily virtues and external Goods as choiceworthy for their own sake


Virtue is greatly superior to bodily Goods and external Goods


Eudaimonia is not a combination of bodily and external Goods, but rather an active life of virtue which in some way uses or acts on these goods


Eudaimonia is not just Good things, but a life of actions


Bodily and external Goods do not make for happiness on their own, but only as put to service by virtue


Despite the superiority of virtue the bodily and external Goods are genuine Goods, choiceworthy for their own sake and required for happiness


Development of concern for oneself results in concern for oneself as a rational being


Concern for oneself as a rational being includes and transforms, rather than replaces, concern for one's friends and other external Goods


The virtuous person is motivated to sacrifice his money, honors, or even chances of virtuous action, to others


The virtuous person is motivated only to act virtuously, and this is just because he is someone who identifies himself with his practical reasoning and its virtuous conclusions


Virtuous and altruistic actions are expressions of virtuous self-love


The greedy, competitive person shows that he conceives of himself as ambitious and ruthless


The just person shows that his conception of himself is as a rational and virtuous person


All action is formally a case of self-love or self-seeking


The crucial difference between selfish and virtuous action lies in the conception of the self that a person has


Being a citizen is essential to the ethical life


The seeker of virtue must choose the intermediate condition, not the excess or deficiency


Correct Reason will determine the intermediate condition


In all states of character there is a target the reasonable person focuses on to define the Mean


Though it is true that to attain virtue we must hold fast to the Mean, it is equally true that we must labor or be idle in the endeavour neither too much nor too little


The person desiring virtue must determine the definition of Correct Reason


There are two parts to the Soul: the Rational and the Nonrational


There are two virtues of the Soul: that of Character and of Thought


The reasonable part of the Soul is further divided into two parts: the Scientific and the Rationally Calculating parts


As Assertion and Denial are to Thought, so are Pursuit and Avoidance to Desire


Deliberation is the same as Rationally Calculating


Nobody deliberates about what cannot be otherwise


The Rationally Calculating part of the Soul is the one with Reason


The Scientific part of the Soul is used to study beings whose principles admit themselves as they are


The Rationally Calculating part of the Soul is used to study beings whose principles do not always admit themselves as they are


The seeker of virtue should find the best state of the Scientific and Rationally Calculating parts to find the virtue in the Rational part of the Soul


There are three capacities in the Soul: Sense Perception, Understanding and Desire


Sense Perception is clearly not the principle of any Action


Beasts have Sense Perception but no share in Action


The principle of an Action is Desire


The principle of an Action is the Source of Motion


The principle of Decision is Desire and Goal-Oriented Reason


Decision requires Understanding, Thought and a state of Character


Acting Well requires both Thought and Character


Acting Badly requires both Thought and Character


Thought by itself moves nothing


Goal-Directed Thought concerned with Action moves us


The principle of Productive Thought is Goal-Directed Thought concerned with Action


Every Producer in his Production aims at some further Goal


The Unqualified Goal is not the Product


The Qualified Goal of a Production that aims at a further Goal is the Product


An Unqualified Goal is what we achieve in Action


Acting Well is the Goal


Desire is for the Goal


Decision is either Understanding combined with Desire, or Desire combined with Thought


The principle of a Human Being is of the same sort as Decision


We do not Deliberate about what is past


We Deliberate about what will Be


Agathon said, Of this alone even a god is deprived: to make what is all done to have never happened


The five states in which the Soul grasps at the Truth are Craft, Scientific Knowledge, Prudence, Wisdom and Understanding


Euripides said, To mortals, what a dreadful scourge is love!


Euripides said, We women are the most unhappy race.


Euripides said, I know, indeed, the evil of that I purpose, but my inclination gets the better of my judgment.


Euripides said, Misery is changing sides.


Alcestis said, Many are the shapes that fortune takes, and oft the gods bring things beyond our expectation. That which we deemed so sure is not fulfilled, while for that we never thought would be, the gods find out a way.


Homer said, Man proposes, Zeus disposes.


Homer said, But bygones must be bygones!


Homer said, Whenever Heaven pleases! Death shall lay me low, too. Yet before he strikes, I am resolved upon great deeds.


Homer said, Mock not at death


Homer said, Better to be the hireling of a stranger, and serve a man of mean estate whose living is but small, than be the ruler of all these dead and gone.


Homer said, Ah how shameless – the way these mortals blame the gods.


Homer said, Even a fool learns wisdom after the event.


Homer said, Better to mourn six men than lose them all, and the ship, too.


Homer said, In every venture, the bold man comes off best.


Ovid said, The glory of having fought the good fight is greater than the disgrace of having been beaten.


Pindar said, Performance proves the man.


Pindar said, The light of glorious deeds shines, imperishable forever.


Pindar said, Action is the way of strength, stratagem the way of council.


Pindar said, A deed done without danger lacks glory . . . but men remember if someone dares and wins.


Pindar said, Always, in the contest for excellence, expense and labor struggle to achieve an exploit whose end lies veiled in danger.


Pindar said, Few have won joy without effort.


Pindar said, Too sharp is the madness of unattainable desires.


Pindar said, Creatures of a day! What is someone? What is no one? Man: a shadow’s dream.


Sophocles said, If my present deeds are foolish in thy sight, it may be that a foolish judge arraigns my folly.


Sophocles said, Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness.


Sophocles said, The world is built out of our beliefs, and when we lose those beliefs out of doubt, our world is destroyed, and the present and the past vanish into night.


Aeschylus said, For seeing they saw not, and hearing they understood not, but like shapes in a dream they wrought all the days of their lives in confusion.


Aeschylus said, Of all vile things in the world the worst is a traitor.


Epicurus said, Not what we have but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.


Epicurus said, You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.


Antisthenes said, There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself - an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend who loves you dearly.


Pericles said, What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.


Alexander the Great said, How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens.


Alexander the Great said, I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.


Alexander the Great said, Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.


Alexander the Great said, There is nothing impossible to him who will try.


Alexander the Great said, Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.


Diogenes said, Blushing is the color of virtue


Diogenes said, Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you've got an audience.


Diogenes said, Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards


Diogenes said, I do not know whether there are gods, but there ought to be


Diogenes said, The sun, too, shines into cesspools and is not polluted


Plato said, Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge.


We make war that we might live in peace


The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law


Socrates said, I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance


Socrates said, Bad men live that they can eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live


Plato said, Ignorance is the root and the stem of every evil


Plato said, You can easily forgive a child that is afraid of the dark, the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light


Xenophanes said, Men make gods in their own image, those of the Ethiopians are black and snub-nosed, those of the Thracians have blue eyes and red hair


A friend to all is a friend to none


A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one


Bring your desires down to your present means.


All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion and desire


Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others


Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them


The best choice for each individual is the highest it is possible for him to achieve


Friendship is essentially a partnership


He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god


Homer has taught all other poets the art of telling lies skillfully


Hope is the dream of a waking man


Aristotle counts him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self


If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is Nature's way


It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world


It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it


Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way


Men create gods after their own image, not only with regard to their form but with regard to their mode of life


Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit


We become just by doing just acts


We become temperate by doing temperate acts


We become brave by doing brave acts


Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth


A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility


Quality is not an act, it is a habit


The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance


The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain


The best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake


The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead


The end of labor is to gain leisure


The energy of the mind is the essence of life


The gods too are fond of a joke


The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons


The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances


Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime


The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold


The moral virtues are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature


The more one dares, the more he shall obtain


The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival


The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom


The whole is more than the sum of its parts


The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently, but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life - knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live


Those who excel in virtue have the best right of all to rebel, but then they are of all men the least inclined to do so


To run away from trouble is a form of cowardice


There is no great genius without a mixture of madness


What is known scientifically is by necessity


Everlasting things are ingenerable and indestructable


Every science seems to be teachable


What is scientifically knowable is learnable


All teaching is from what is already known


Some teaching is by induction, some by deduction


Induction leads to the principle, the universal


Deduction proceeds from the principle, the universal


Scientific knowledge is a demonstrable state


One has scientific knowledge whenever one has the appropriate sort of confidence


What admits of being otherwise includes what is produced and what is achieved in action


Production and Action are different


The state involving reason and concerned with action is different from the state involving reason and concerned with production


Action is not Production, and Production is not Action


Craft is a certain state involving Reason concerned with Production


Craft is the same as a state involving True Reason concerned with Production


Every Craft is concerned with coming to Be


Exercise of Craft is the study of how something that admits of Being and Not Being comes to Be


The principle of Craft is in the Producer not in the Product


Craft is not concerned with things that Are or come to Be by necessity


Craft is not concerned with things that Are by nature


Craft is concerned with Production, not with Action


In a way, Craft and Fortune are concerned with the same things


Agathon said, Craft was fond of Fortune, and Fortune of Craft


Lack of Craft is a state involving False Reason and concerned with Production


Craft and Lack of Craft both are concerned with what admits of being otherwise


To grasp what Prudence is, we should first study the sort of people we call prudent


We are what we repeatedly do


We must no more ask whether the soul and body are one than ask whether the wax and the figure impressed on it are one


We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time


What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuous actions


Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit


A flatterer is a friend who is your inferior, or pretends to be so


A friend is a second self


All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind


All virtue is summed up in dealing justly


It is in justice that the ordering of society is centered


Zeno thought people should try to reach inner peacefulness


Stoicism was founded by a man named Zeno, who lived from 335-263 BCE


Zeno was friendly with the successors of Alexander who ruled Greece


Zeno said, The best way to be peaceful was to be moderate in everything


Zeno used to lecture not in a classroom but outside, on the porch of a public building. The word for porch in Greek is STOA, and so people called his students Stoics, people who hang out on the porch.


Gaea is the Earth goddess


Uranus is the sky god and first ruler


Cronus is the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his Father Uranus


Rhea is the wife of Cronus


Oceanus is the unending stream of water encircling the world


Tethys is the wife of Oceanus


Hyperion is the Titan of Light


Mnemosyne is the Titan of Memory and the mother of Muses


Themis is the Titan of Justice and Order


Iapetus is the father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoetius, and Atlas by Clymene


Coeus is the Titan of Intelligence


Phoebe is the Titan of the Moon


Prometheus is the wisest Titan


Epimetheus is a stupid Titan


Atlas fought with the other Titans supporting Cronus against Zeus


Metis is the Titaness of the fourth day and the planet Mercury.


Metis presides over all wisdom and knowledge.


Dione is the mother of Aphrodite


Zeus overthrew his Father Cronus.


Zeus drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades. Zeus won the draw and became the supreme ruler of the gods.


Zeus is lord of the sky, the rain god.


Poseidon is a brother of Zeus.


Poseidon is lord of the sea


Hades is a brother of Zeus.


Hades is lord of the underworld


Hestia is Zeus sister.


Hestia is a virgin goddess


Hera is Zeus wife and sister


Hera was raised by the Titans Ocean and Tethys.


Hera is the protector of marriage and takes special care of married women.


Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. Ares was disliked by both parents.


Ares is the god of war


Athena is the daughter of Zeus.


Athena is fierce and brave in battle but only fights to protect the state and home from outside enemies.


Athena is the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture


Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto.


Apollo is the god of music, playing a golden lyre.


Apollo is The Archer, far shooting with a silver bow.


Apollo is the god of healing who taught man medicine.


Apollo is the god of light.


Apollo is the god of truth, who can not speak a lie.


Apollo's twin sister is Artemis


Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and beauty


Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia. He is Zeus messenger


Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto.


Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo.


Artemis is the lady of the wild things


Hephaestus is a son of Zeus and Hera.


Hephaestus is the god of fire and the forge


Asclepius is a god of healing. His parents were Apollo and Coronis


Demeter is the goddess of corn, grain, and the harvest. She is the daughter of Cronus and Rhea


Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter.


After her abduction by Hades, Persephone became his wife and Queen of the underworld.


Dionysus is the god of the vine.


Dionysus invented wine and spread the art of tending grapes.


Dionysus has a dual nature. On the one hand bringing joy and divine ecstasy. On the other brutal, unthinking, rage


Eros is the son of Aphrodite.


Eros is the god of erotic, romantic, love


Hebe is a daughter of Zeus and Hera.


Hebe is the goddess of youth and the wife of Heracles


Eris is a daughter of Zeus and Hera.


Eris is the goddess of discord


Thanatos was the personification of death


Pan is the son of Hermes.


Pan is the god of goatherds and shepherds


Nemesis is the god of righteous anger, due enactment, or divine vengeance.


Nemesis helped to avenge those who were wronged


There are three Graces: Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, otherwise known as Splendor, Mirth, and Good Cheer.


The Graces are known for singing and dancing for the gods


There are nine Muses, each with her own specialty: Clio - History, Urania - Astronomy, Melpomene - Tragedy, Thalia - Comedy, Terpsichore - Dance, Calliope - Epic Poetry, Erato - Love Poetry, Polyhymnia - Songs to the Gods, Euterpe - Lyric Poetry


There are three Erinye - Tisiphone, Megaera, and Alecto.


The Erinyes came from the blood of Uranus when he was castrated.


The Erinyes pursue wrong doers relentlessly, until death, often driving them to suicide.


The Erinye are particularly concerned with matricide.


The Erinyes are also known as the Furies


There are three Fates. Clotho, the spinner, who spins the thread of life. Lachesis, the measurer, who chooses the lot in life one will have and measures off how long it is to be. Atropos, she who can not be turn, who at death with her shears cuts the thread of life.


Argus Panoptes is the all seeing. A man with many eyes


Echidna is a female monster consisting of half nymph, half speckled snake


Parrotstotle was created on a friday in April, 2007.


Parrotstotle was created on friday, the thirteenth day of April, in 2007


Parrotstotle was created on Friday the Thirteenth.


Aristotle said, I have gained this by philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law


Liars when they speak the truth are not believed


What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies


Aristotle counts him braver who overcomes his desires than him who overcomes his enemies


All men by nature desire knowledge


For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them


It is possible to fail in many ways . . . while to succeed is possible only in one way


One swallow does not make Spring


Piety requires us to honor truth above our friends


To be conscious that we are perceiving or thinking is to be conscious of our own existence


To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character


We must as second best . . . take the least of the evils


With regard to excellence, it is not enough to know, but we must try to have and use it


Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods


In the arena of human life the honours and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities


In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous


Time crumbles things, everything grows old under the power of Time and is forgotten through the lapse of Time


Political society exists for the sake of noble actions, and not of mere companionship


Again, men in general desire the good, and not merely what their fathers had


Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered


It is the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it


Law is order, and good law is good order


Man is by nature a political animal


Nature does nothing uselessly


They should rule who are able to rule best


Evil draws men together


No one finds fault with defects which are the result of Nature


A good style must have an air of novelty, at the same time concealing its art


Numbers are intellectual witnesses that belong only to mankind


Wicked men obey from fear, good men, from love


Some men are just as sure of the truth of their opinions as are others of what they know


Philosophy is the science which considers truth


Man is by nature a civic animal


Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers


Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities


Custom is second nature


Repentant tears wash out the stain of guilt


Be not arrogant when Fortune smiles, or dejected when she frowns


If you are dreaded by many then beware of many


It often happens, that misery will follow a marriage when the dowry is too large


Let the blacksmith wear the chains he has himself made


No man will revel long in the indulgence of crime


One day unfolds it and one day destroys


Knowledge is power


The mould of a man's fortune is in his own hands


To Thales the primary question was not what do we know, but how do we know it?


Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope


Bad men are full of repentance


Revolutions are not about trifles, but spring from trifles


The ideal man is his own best friend and takes delight in privacy


Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind


The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness, and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival


Great men are always of a nature originally melancholy


Aristotle counts him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self


Happiness is the utilization of one's talents along lines of excellence


Wit is educated insolence


Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor, for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit


It was through the feeling of wonder that men now and at first began to philosophize


Most people would rather give than get affection


For what is the best choice, for each individual is the highest it is possible for him to achieve


Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy


The coward calls the brave man rash, the rash man calls him a coward


The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently, but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life -- knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live


The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet


Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these only gave life, those the art of living well


All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth


Equality consists in the same treatment of similar persons


Excellence then is not an act but a habit


There are some who, because the point is the limit and extreme of the line, the line of the plane, and the plane of the solid, think there must be real things of this sort


Man is a goal seeking animal


Man's life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals


It is easy to perform a good action, but not easy to acquire a settled habit of performing such actions


It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom


To live happily is an inward power of the Soul


Of mankind in general, the parts are greater than the whole


If at first the idea is absurd, then there is no hope for it


No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness


Justice is that virtue of the soul which is distributive according to desert


The price of justice is eternal publicity


What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing


We give up leisure in order that we may have leisure, just as we go to war in order that we may have peace


There is a cropping-time in the races of men, as in the fruits of the field, and sometimes, if the stock be good, there springs up for a time a succession of splendid men, and then comes a period of barrenness


The mathematical sciences particularly exhibit order, symmetry, and limitation, and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful


The greatest thing in style is to have a command of metaphor


And of course, the brain is not responsible for any of the sensations at all. The correct view is that the seat and source of sensation is the region of the heart


It is better to rise from life as from a banquet -- neither thirsty nor drunken


The Moral Virtues, then, are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature


Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for the reception of Moral Virtue, but their complete formation is the product of habit


Men regard it as their right to return evil for evil -- and if they cannot, feel they have lost their liberty


It makes no difference whether a good man has defrauded a bad man, or a bad man defrauded a good man, or whether a good or bad man has committed adultery: the law can look only to the amount of damage done


The good of man must be the end of the science of politics


Education is the best provision for the journey to old age


It is unbecoming for young men to utter maxims


Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work


Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime


To perceive is to suffer


It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen


Poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history: for poetry tends to express the universal, history the particular


The gods too are fond of a joke


To give a satisfactory decision as to the truth it is necessary to be rather an arbitrator than a party to the dispute


Young people are in a condition like permanent intoxication, because youth is sweet and they are growing


Misfortune shows those who are not really friends


Man perfected by society is the best of all animals, he is the most terrible of all when he lives without law, and without justice


Happiness depends upon ourselves


Law is mind without reason


To be conscious that we are perceiving or thinking is to be conscious of our own existence


A state is not a mere society


As for the story, whether the poet takes it ready made or constructs it for himself, he should first sketch its general outline, and then fill in the episodes and amplify in detail


If you string together a set of speeches expressive of character, and well finished in point and diction and thought, you will not produce the essential tragic effect nearly so well as with a play which, however deficient in these respects, yet has a plot and artistically constructed incidents


Dramatic action, therefore, is not with a view to the representation of character: character comes in as subsidiary to the actions


Where perception is, there also are pain and pleasure, and where these are, there, of necessity, is desire


Neglect of an effective birth control policy is a never-failing source of poverty which, in turn, is the parent of revolution and crime


Generally, about all perception, we can say that a sense is what has the power of receiving into itself the sensible forms of things without the matter, in the way in which a piece of wax takes on the impress of a signet ring without the iron or gold


Beauty is the gift from the gods


Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach


It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences


The least deviation from truth will be multiplied later


Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet


No tyrant need to fear till men begin to feel confident in each other


A whole is that which has a beginning, a middle, and an end


The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance


Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms


The most important things about which all men deliberate and deliberative orators harangue, are five in number, to wit: ways and means, war and peace, the defence of the country, imports and exports, legislation


Aristotle conceives of ethical theory as a field distinct from the theoretical sciences


The methodology of ethical theory must match its subject matter — good action — and must respect the fact that in this field many generalizations hold only for the most part


We study ethics in order to improve our lives


The principal concern of ethics is the nature of human well-being


Aristotle follows Socrates and Plato in taking the virtues to be central to a well-lived life


Like Plato, Aristotle regards the ethical virtues as complex rational, emotional and social skills


Aristotle rejects Plato's idea that a training in the sciences and metaphysics are a necessary prerequisite for a full understanding of our good


What we need, in order to live well, is a proper appreciation of the way in which such goods as friendship, pleasure, virtue, honor and wealth fit together as a whole


In order to apply that general understanding to particular cases, we must acquire, through proper upbringing and habits, the ability to see, on each occasion, which course of action is best supported by reasons


Practical wisdom cannot be acquired solely by learning general rules


We also must also acquire, through practice, those deliberative, emotional, and social skills that enable us to put our general understanding of well-being into practice in ways that are suitable to each occasion


Aristotle wrote two ethical treatises: the Nicomachean Ethics and the Eudemian Ethics


The Nicomachean Ethics gives a series of arguments for the superiority of the philosophical life to the political life


The Nicomachean Ethics examines Solon's dictum that no man should be counted happy until he is dead


The Nicomachean Ethics discusses the close relationship between ethical inquiry and politics


There are differences of opinion about what is best for human beings, and that to profit from ethical inquiry we must resolve this disagreement


We are asking what the good for human beings is not simply because we want to have knowledge, but because we will be better able to achieve our good if we develop a fuller understanding of what it is to flourish


The difficult and controversial question arises when we ask whether some Goods are more desirable than others


Aristotle's search for the good is a search for the highest good


The highest good, whatever it turns out to be, has three characteristics: it is desirable for itself, it is not desirable for the sake of some other good, and all other goods are desirable for its sake


Aristotle thinks everyone will agree that the terms eudaimonia, meaning happiness, and "eu zen", meaning living well, designate the highest good


The Greek term eudaimon is composed of two parts: eu means well, and daimon means divinity or spirit


To be eudaimon is to be living in a way that is well-favored by a god


Aristotle never calls attention to the etymology of eudaimon, and it seems to have little influence on his thinking


Aristotle regards eudaimon as a substitute for eu zen


The terms eudaimon and eu zen play an evaluative role, and are not simply descriptions of someone's state of mind


No one tries to live well for the sake of some further goal


Being eudaimon is the highest end for humans


All goals are subordinate to eudaimon


Health, wealth, and other such resources are sought because they promote well-being, not because they are what well-being consists in


Unless we can determine which good or goods happiness consists in, it is of little use to acknowledge that happiness and living well is the highest end


Aristotle argues that the function, task, and work of a human being consists in activity of the rational part of the soul in accordance with virtue


The Nutritive Soul is responsible for growth and reproduction


The Locomotive Soul is responsible for motion


The Perceptive Soul is responsible for perception


Aristotle argues that human beings are the only species that has the lower capacities of Soul as well as a Rational Soul


The good of a human being must have something to do with being human


The good of a human being must have something to do with what sets humanity off from other species


The good of a human being must have something to do with giving us the potential to live a better life


The good of a human being must have something to do with our capacity to guide ourselves by using reason


Using reason well over the course of a full life is what happiness consists in


Doing anything well requires virtue or excellence


Happiness is not virtue, happiness is virtuous activity


Living well consists in doing something, not just being in a certain state or condition


Aristotle argues that the function, task, and work of a human being consists in activity of the rational part of the soul in accordance with virtue


Hippocrates said, For where there is love of man, there is also love of art


Pindar said, Success for the striver washes away the effort of striving


Sophocles said, If you are out of trouble, watch for danger


Sophocles said, There is no success without hardship


It is commonly said, As long as you have the blessing of your parents it does not matter even if you live in the mountains


It is commonly said, He who is not satisfied with a little is not satisfied with a lot


It is commonly said, A person can be as sweet as honey or as heavy as steel


It is commonly said, If you do not have brains you have legs


It is commonly said, If you do not have brains you follow the same route twice


It is commonly said, If you are truthful you will have as much gold as you want


It is commonly said, The liar and the thief rejoice in their first year only


It is commonly said, Help yourself so the gods can help you


It is commonly said, The rabbits' eye differs from that of the owl


It is commonly said, Passing from mouth to mouth it was learned by a thousand, and by the time it came to be heard by the king he learned of how a cow laid an egg


It is commonly said, The rich man with his riches and the poor man with his children


It is commonly said, Many words are poverty


It is commonly said, Upon touching sand may it turn to gold


Andromeda is the princess of Ethiopia, daughter to Cepheus and Cassiopeia


Echo is a beautiful Nymph who lived in the forest


The first woman to be created in ancient Greek myth is known as Pandora


Pandora is said to have been created by Hephaestus


Pandora's name meant all gifted and is attributed to all the gifts the gods bestowed upon her


The gods gave Pandora many gifts, the gift of music from Apollo, beauty from Aphrodite, and many others


King Midas is a famous king from Phrygia in Asia Minor


Medusa is the youngest and most beautiful of the three daughters of the sea Titans Porcys and Ceto


Medusa is the only mortal of three sisters


Medusa's sisters are Stheno and Euryale


Medusa and her sisters are very wise


Medusa and her sisters serve as priestesses under the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena


Poseidon desired beautiful Medusa, and in a moment of uncontrolled passion he raped Medusa in Athena's own temple


Athena transformed Medusa into a hideous beast, with wings and numerous snakes for hair


The transformed Medusa is so horrid to behold that whosoever looked at her would instantly turn to stone


Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes


The beautiful Persephone is the daughter of the earth goddess, Demeter


Demeter taught the people how to plant and how to grow food so that they may live


Demeter taught the people about the gathering of their harvests so that they may live


The city of Thebes is plagued by the horrible Sphinx


The Sphinx routinely asks passerbys a riddle, and whoever can not answer is snatched up and eaten by the beast


Aristotle is one of the greatest thinkers of all time


Plato considered Aristotle his most talented and intelligent student


Plato bestowed upon Aristotle the title, The Reader


Hippocrates is known today as the Father of Medicine


Hippocrates was born on the island of Kos in 460 B.C.E.


Hippocrates practiced his chosen art of medicine in several cities throughout the ancient Greek world


Hippocrates practiced the art of medicine in Athens during it's Golden Age


Hippocrates was laid to rest in the Greek city of Larissa in Thessaly in 375 B.C.E.


Hippocrates believed that human disease had only natural causes


The medicine which Hippocrates practiced removed the treatment of disease from religion


Hippocrates never formed a connection with the priests or hospitals of Aesclepius, the god of healing


Hippocrates turned medicine into a science as well as an art


Hippocrates applied logic and reason to the treatment of his patients


The theories Hippocrates developed are summed up in The Corpus Hippocratium


The Corpus Hippocratium is the oldest surviving complete medical collection


The Hippocratic oath was developed for those who were to practice medicine based on loyalty, honor and virtue among other noble traits


Phidias lived from 493 to 430 B.C.E.


Phidias is a very famous ancient Greek sculptor who lived during the Golden Age of Athens


Phidias designed and created the Parthenon


Phidias is the creator of the Athena statue that resides in the Parthenon


Phidias created one of the seven wonders of the ancient world in his massive sculpture to Zeus at Olympia


The Golden Age of Greece is the time when Athens along with the other Greek city-states defeated the powerful Persian empire


The Golden Age of Greece is the time when Athens became leader of a powerful alliance of ancient Greek city-states with a common goal of defending their homeland


A great portion of what Greece contributed to western civilization occurred during the Golden Age of Greece


The powerful alliance during the Golden Age that Athens ruled over was known as the Delian League


Plato lived during and after the destructive Peloponnesian War


Plato was born into the aristocracy of the city of Athens


Plato lived from 428 to 347 B.C.E.


After Socrates was executed, Plato went to live for 12 yers in Sicily and Italy, otherwise known as Greater Greece


Plato encountered the Pythagorean sects in Sicily


The Pythagoreans had a profound effect in Plato's life


Plato returned to Athens in 387 B.C., and founded the Academy of Athens


Plato believes that the pursuit of truth can only come through questions, answers, and then with questions once again


Plato believes that the best quality in a statesman was not technical or practical ability but rather knowledge and wisdom


Plato believes that all constitutions and laws were inherently bad in that they did not meet the constantly changing events of modern life


Plato believes that states were not stable in that they relied on laws that could not keep up with the needs of the society


Plato thought what was needed were men with a godlike insight that could lead the state


Plato thought the perfect state would consist of three main parts: the wise leaders, the military, and the rest of society


Plato became so disillusioned with mankind that he decided that mankind could not be governed by reason


Socrates was born in the city of Athens in 470 B.C.E.


Socrates was liked by many Athenians yet he was disliked by most


Socrates spent much of his time in the Agora where he held conversations with the citizens of Athens


Socreates is most remembered for his strong moral beliefs


Socrates believes that people do evil out of ignorance


Socrates believes that people are inherently good


Socrates taught his philosophy by questioning those who listened to him on the streets of Athens


Socrates showed people that the answers they often had for questions were insufficient


Socrates formed a very large following among the disillusioned youth of Athens


The philosophy of Socrates rejected the relativism of the Sophists and the belief that it is impossible to arrive at what is right and wrong


Socrates agreed with the Sophists that distinctions do exist in customs between any two cities


Socrates argued that the animal world cannot be used in comparison to humans


Socrates thought the essential problem with mankind was the ignorance and lack of insight into the nature of good and evil


Hippocrates said, For where there is love of man, there is also love of art


Pindar said, Success for the striver washes away the effort of striving


Socrates said, The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be


Sacred to the goddess Demeter were agricultural products, livestock, poppy, narcissus and grain


The center of worship of Demeter was at Eleusis, near Athens


At Eleusis secret rituals every five years known as the Eleusinian Mysteries


The Eleusinian Mysteries are based on Demeter's search for her Daughter Persephone


The Pythagoreans believed, but failed to prove, that the universe could be understood in terms of whole numbers


Pythagoras is a son of Mnesarchos


Pythagoras was born on the isle of Samos in 580 B.C.E.


Pythagoras left his fatherland to escape the tyranny of Polykrates


For many years Pythagoras made his home in Kroton in southern Italy


Pythagoras and his followers were banished from Kroton by an opposing political party


Pythagoras died at Metapontum in 500 B.C.E.


Pythagoras was a mystic thinker and religious reformer quite as much as a philosopher and politician


Pythagorean philosophy is an important source of inspiration for Plato and Aristotle


The school of Pythagoras was as much a religion as a school of mathematics


Pythagoreans are vegetarians, possibly because they believed in the transmigration of souls


The school of Pythagoras represents the mystic tradition in contrast with the scientific


The Pythagorean school regards men and women equally


Pythagorean men and women enjoy a common way of life


Property is communal in Pythagorean society


Even mathematical discoveries are communal in Pythagorean society


Pythagoras states that the greatest purification of all is disinterested science


Mathematics, so honored by Pythagoras, became the model for other sciences


Pythagoras teaches that Thought is superior to the senses, and intuition is superior to observation


The dictum of the Pythagorean school is, All is Number


Theano, the wife of Pythagoras, gave us the concept of the Golden Section


The Golden Section states: A is to B as B is to C


The Golden Section is also known as the Divine Proportion, the Golden Mean and the Golden Ratio


The Golden Mean is represented by the Greek letter, phi


The common decimal representation of phi is 1.6180339887499


Theoretical Wisdom aims at truth


Theoretical Wisdom is concerned with knowledge of first principles


Theoretical knowledge is of what is necessary and eternal


Theoretical knowledge is concerned with what can not be otherwise


Theoretical knowledge is concerned with things that don't change


Practical Wisdom aims at truth


Practical Wisdom is truth in the service of action


Practical Wisdom is concerned with what can be otherwise, with things that change


Practical Wisdom is concerned with things that change and are related to how humans live their lives among other humans


Only the person who is morally virtuous will be able to be practically wise


Only the morally virtuous person will perceive what really matters in any situation


Only the morally virtuous person will be motivated to carry out appropriate action


Practical Wisdom is in the service of action


Human beings need to be able to deliberate well about what actions are needed to bring about what is rightly desired


The person who is morally virtuous and has practical wisdom will perceive and deliberate well, and hence, choose well


Practical Wisdom is a necessary condition for Understanding


Theoretical Wisdom is not a necessary condition for Practical Wisdom


Moral Virtue is not a necessary condition of Theoretical Wisdom


Theoretical Wisdom is not a necessary condition of Moral Virtue


Moral Virtue is a necessary condition of Practical Wisdom


The person who can reason well to get an end that is not rightly desired is clever but not wise


A person can be good at means & end reasoning without Moral Virtue, but will neither perceive the situation correctly nor desire the right end


Practical Wisdom is a necessary condition of Moral Virtue


Part of being morally virtuous is listening to what practical reason tells you about what a particular situation is like so that you can know what it is appropriate to feel


Part of being morally virtuous is being able to carry out good intentions through effective means & end reasoning


The practically wise and morally virtuous person does not need theoretical wisdom


Both practical wisdom and moral virtue are acquired over a long period of training and instruction in a moral community


We acquire practical wisdom and moral virtue by being shown what things matter in a situation, how to feel about these things, and how to act appropriately


The purpose of moral education is not to find out what is good but to act well


The word philosophy means love of wisdom


A man with theoretical wisdom has exact knowledge of all disciplines, such as physical sciences, metaphysics, mathematics, and philosophy


A man with theoretical wisdom has an intellect that grasps the truth of fundamental principles


Theoretical Wisdom comprises complete scientific knowledge in combination with an understanding of the true meaning of what intuition deduces from first principles


Theoretical Wisdom is the highest and most noble kind of wisdom


Theoretical Wisdom is a union of intuition and science


Political Wisdom is an aspect of Practical Wisdom


Practical wisdom is concerned with securing the Good of the individual


Political Wisdom is concerned with securing the Good of the state


There are important differences between the needs of the individual and the group which cause Practical and Political Wisdom to emphasize varying approaches and ideas


Political Wisdom has two branches


The supreme and comprehensive form of Political Wisdom is concerned with legislation and the ability to legislate well


The lesser form of Political Wisdom is concerned with the details of administration and is itself divided into two parts, the judicial and decision-making faculties


Practical wisdom is the first principle of good deliberation


Practical wisdom enables us to evaluate a situation or problem in terms of its general characteristics and to decide the right way and time to act


Practical wisdom makes it possible to correctly assess the means to an end by giving a true conception of that end


Practical wisdom makes it possible to correctly assess a good standard for judging approaches to the desired end


There is an important difference between good and correct deliberation


A morally weak or bad man can deliberate correctly and can attain the goal which he has decided is right for him even though the goal is bad


The result of good deliberation is always a good thing


It is possible to achieve a good goal by the wrong means through ignorance or bad judgment


The means selected by good deliberation are always good


Understanding and practical wisdom, though different things, operate in the same sphere


Practical Wisdom issues commands


Practical Wisdom's aim is to tell us what we ought and ought not to do


Understanding does not imply either possession or acquisition of Practical Wisdom


Understanding is the use of one's faculty of opinion in rightly judging statements made about matters which belong to the realm of Practical Wisdom


Practical Wisdom is the result of experience


Good Sense is an innate characteristic


Native Intelligence can be developed into Theoretical Wisdom


Innate Good Sense can be developed into Practical Wisdom


Good Sense is the quality we say a man has when he is able to forgive others


Good Sense is a sympathetic understanding and a good judgment of what is fair and equitable


Good sense, understanding, practical wisdom, and intelligence, are nearly always found in the same persons


Good sense, understanding, practical wisdom, and intelligence, all tend toward the same goal and share a concern with ultimate particular facts


Practical Wisdom contemplates the means by which men become happy


Theoretical wWisdom is concerned only with unchangeable realities


It is impossible to have Theoretical Wisdom without also having Practical Wisdom


Practical and Theoretical Wisdom are good in themselves, apart from their effects, simply because they are virtues


The exercise of wisdom is the essence of happiness


Contemplation and the life of Theoretical Wisdom constitute man's highest end


Practical Wisdom is an essential element of man's highest end


Virtue makes man choose the right ends


Practical Wisdom makes man choose the right means


Practical Wisdom cannot exist independently of virtue


The power to attain an end, whether good or bad, is mere talent or cleverness, and is raised above the level of roguery only by the presence of virtue


Practical Wisdom implies Moral Virtue


Moral Virtue implies Practical Wisdom


It is impossible to develop Moral Virtue without thorough training in Practical Wisdom


Virtue cannot be complete without the possession of Practical Wisdom


Socrates was wrong when he said that virtue was only wisdom


Socrates was right when he said that virtue is a form of knowledge


Though the Natural Virtues can exist in isolation from each other, the Moral Virtues are interdependent


Possession of any Moral Virtue implies possession of Practical Wisdom


Possession of practical Wisdom implies possession of all the Moral Virtues


A man with practical wisdom controls his instinctive tendencies and directs his own life to the highest good


The highest good is balanced development of moral character, otherwise known as virtue


Practical Wisdom is subordinate to Theoretical Wisdom


Practical Wisdom is Prudence


Prudence is excellence of the deliberative faculty of the soul and enables one to exercise right choice


Practical Wisdom is excellence of the deliberative faculty of the soul and enables one to exercise right choice


Prudence enables us to choose the right means for attaining the right ends as determined by virtue


Practical Wisdom makes the existence of Virtue possible


Practical Wisdom is not the same as Virtue


Reason is an important factor in the achievement of all the virtues


Reason is an essential element in the doctrine of the Golden Mean


The Golden Mean tells us that a virtue is the point which is midway between the extremes of excess and deficiency


Plato taught Aristotle that knowledge of the Good was the most important quest that could ever occupy the mind of man


Alpha is the uppercase form of the first letter of the Greek alphabet


Abae is the site of the oracular shrine of Apollon in Phokis near the city of Delphi


Abarbare is a Naiad, a water nymph, and the consort of Boukolion


Abarbare is the mother of the twins, Pedasos and Aisepos


Abarbare's name is also rendered as Abarbaree and Abarbarea


Abdera was the birthplace of the philosopher Demokritus and the sophist Protagoras


Abdera is a city on the coast of Thrake east of the river Nestos


Abdera was first settled in the seventh century B.C.E., and then about a hundred years later it was re-established by Ionians from Asia Minor


Ironically, the inhabitants of Abdera are mocked for their inferior minds


Abydos is a city on the Asian side of the Hellespont


Sestos is a city on the European side the Hellespont


Akademeia is an olive grove near the city of Athens which was sacred to the hero Akademus


Plato taught at the olive grove of Akademeia, ands their school became known as The Academy


Akademus assisted Kastor and Pollux in the rescue of their sister, Helen


The Achaean League is the confederacy of twelve cities in Achaea on the Peloponnesian Peninsula


The Achaean League was unique in that it was ruled by a democratic system


The Achaean League was dissolved by Alexander the Great but later reorganized in 280 B.C.E. with ten cities under the leadership of Aratus of Sikyon


The Achaean League ended when it was forcibly disbanded by the Romans circa 146 B.C.E.


Adrasteia is a name for the daughter of Nyx, and means Nemesis, and that means Divine Retribution or The Inevitable


Virtue makes man choose the right ends


Practical Wisdom makes man choose the right means


Practical wisdom cannot exist independently of virtue


It is not the mathematical Mean but the organic Mean as determined by Reason that prescribes what each individual ought to do


The nature of goodness is not purely a matter of satisfying one's desires


Desires are an important element in the good life


Desires are given guidance and direction by Reason


Unsupervised desires may hinder rather than promote the realization of the good life


In the moral virtues the emphasis is placed on the proper control of one's appetites and desires


Temperance becomes a means toward the acquisition of good health


Courage is a necessary means for the further development of one's capacities and powers


That which is a Means must always be a Means, and there must be a final end or goal which has value in itself


Wisdom is highest among all the virtues


Wisdom is the realization of a capacity which distinguishes man from the lower animals


Wisdom gives man a kind of kinship with the gods


Wisdom can be used to direct life's activities


Wisdom in contemplation enables man to find his greatest happiness and the fulfillment of that which is unique in his nature


It is through the development of the intellect that man acquires knowledge of the sciences


It is through sensation that we are made aware of that which changes from time to time


It is only through the intellect that we gain knowledge of the permanent or unchanging principles


It is only through the intellect that we gain knowledge which enables us to organize the world of our experiences


There are false intuitions as well as correct ones and it is the function of the reason to distinguish between them


It is through a type of intuitive insight that the mind grasps the principles of conduct that may point the way toward the good life


Correct Intuitions must be consistent with themselves and in harmony with all the known facts


Correct Intuitions must provide an intelligible and meaningful interpretation of one's experiences


Correct Intuitions do not often occur to the ignorant or uninformed person


One should look to those who are highly trained in the appropriate field for guidance and for suggestion


It is always possible to select the course of action which appears to be the most reasonable


It is possible to distinguish three states of badness: incontinence, vice, and bestiality


It is possible to distinguish three states of goodness: continence, virtue and superhuman virtue


Bestiality is found chiefly among barbarians


Bestiality may occasionally be produced among civilized men by disease or mutilation


Comprehension is neither having prudence or acquiring it


Comprehension and good comprehension are the same


Comprehension is not the same as scientific knowledge


Comprehension is not one of the specific sciences


Comprehension is not a belief


Comprehension and Prudence are concerned about the same things


Comprehension is not the same thing as Prudence


Prudence prescribes while comprehension judges


Comprehension consists of in the application of belief to judge someone else's remarks on a question that concerns prudence


Comprehension is neither having prudence nor acquiring it


Comprehension is about what we might be puzzled about


Comprehension is about what we might deliberate about


Correct Consideration judges what is true


The decent person has Consideration


Corect Consideration judges what is decent


Prudence and Wisdom are virtues of different parts of the Soul


Incontinence can be defined as acting from passion despite knowledge that one's acts are bad


Continence consists of knowing that one's appetites can be bad and resisting them in obedience to a rule


Plato taught that people were naturally divided into different areas of excellence


Plato taught that some people are naturally gifted to rule on moral questions


Plato taught that there existed absolute moral truths which were accessible to a few people


Plato taught the Myth of Er, which provides a fictional vision of the after life


The study of ethics is a study of the character of human beings


Man is by nature a social and political being


Man derives his moral purpose from participation in an existing community, the world of parents, ancestors, friends, customs, institutions, and laws


There is no individual existence prior to or independent of the community


Ethical enquiry must take into account the essential social and political basis of human life


The study of what makes a particular person good is inextricably a part of the more important discussion of what makes the community good


Moral theory is based on the morality of the community


Man has no complete identity or purpose without the community to which he belongs


Different communities live by different rules and have different standards of ethical conduct


We study what generally constitutes community membership so we can come to an understanding of moral excellence in any community


The student of ethics must study the world we know


The student of ethics must study the world around us


The student of ethics must study the traditions of our community and of other communities


The student of ethics must study the opinions of earlier thinkers


The student of ethics must study what we all observe about the actual behaviour of people


The theories of human conduct we inherit we must explore by an examination of the facts around us to see what they may all have in common


The practical study of ethics must be grounded in empirical enquiry


The theoretical study of moral questions will not answer any questions with certainty


An understanding of some of the principles of moral conduct requires some existing sense of virtue in the student


Ethical philosophy is not a fit subject for the young and inexperienced


Every science, investigation or action aims at some good


Goods exist in a hierarchy


The lesser goods are instrumental in seeking the higher goods


Many things are good in and of themselves


The highest good will be the final goal of purposeful striving


The highest good is something good for its own sake


The final good for human beings is eudaimonia


Eudaimonia is always an end in itself


The goodness of anything resides in its proper function


The proper function of human beings resides in the active life of the rational element


The moral excellence of human beings resides in the active life of the rational element


A life of virtue necessarily involves acting in accordance with Reason


The Good for man is an activity of the soul in conformity with the best and most complete virtues


To act in accordance with Reason is a matter of observing the principle of the Mean relative to us


Finding the Mean is finding the appropriate response between excess and deficiency in a particular situation


We must distinguish between voluntary and involuntary actions


Not all human actions arise from deliberation and choice


A complex set of intellectual virtues is necessary for human excellence


The most important of the virtues in the sphere of moral action is Practical Wisdom


Every art or applied science aims at some good


Every action and choice aims at some good


The excellence of a man will be those things which best enable the man to fulfill a social and political function


Acting virtuously requires awareness


The most morally excellent conduct will be the response appropriate to a specific set of circumstances


The moral person must be able to evaluate a particular situation


The moral person must be able to recognize a particular situation for what it really is


The moral person must be able to comprehend the present situation in relation to any actions which he might undertake to respond to it


Analytical skills come from experience, habit, and education


The moral person must have a developed sense of what he wants his life


The moral person must possess some understanding of what is appropriate for him to pursue at this stage in the development of his life


The man of practical wisdom understands how to behave from one situation to the next


The man of practical wisdom understands how tp pursue the appropriate goals in the appropriate ways


The man of practical wisdom knows how to construct his life in accordance with the realities of the world around him