Philosophy Now Forum

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...................................'Modesty' by Antonio Corradini (1751) carved entirely out of marble.







...and why don't we see it?







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........................................El rapto de Proserpina, escultura en mármol, de Gian ...



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Define virtue?

Why are you defining modesty this way?

Bill Wiltrack wrote:.






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...................................'Modesty' by Antonio Corradini (1751) carved entirely out of marble.







...and why don't we see it?







..................................

........................................El rapto de Proserpina, escultura en mármol, de Gian ...



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Yes, modesty is considered a virtue in terms of normative ethics. The reason you/we don't see it is because what you have posted is very low level illustrative representation of ethics. Virtue ethics requires a prescriptive explanation.

the important question is whether or not modesty contributes to maximizing the good of the maximum number

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Go on...



Talk as much as you want. Talk until your words make sense to you and you are justified.


Talk as much as you want but words will never speak the message that I feel when I view .'Modesty' by Antonio Corradini. Nor will your words be as important.



So really, by all means, go on...








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Modesty is a tool, it is a defence mechanism and one should be aware of when to use it.

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Is modesty a natural, instinctive state or do you think it is learned?




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Bill Wiltrack wrote:.Go on...

Talk as much as you want. Talk until your words make sense to you and you are justified.

Talk as much as you want but words will never speak the message that I feel when I view .'Modesty' by Antonio Corradini. Nor will your words be as important.

So really, by all means, go on...

Oh! I get it now, you saw a pair of tits on a statue and thought you'd post them with some pseudo-ethical nonsense to justify it.

What is it you 'felt' Bill? Can you say or are your 'feelings' like your thoughts, a mass of confused incoherence.

Tell you what I'll help you, you've assumed that the virtue in question has to do with sex and covering the female form as this is what plays upon your subconscious all the time, presumably due to your catholic upbringing but this virtue can be applied to other areas, e.g. modesty at ones achievements or successes. So you could consider why your subconscious is working this way and especially since you appear to link rape and modesty and now appear to think that a women in a gym is exposing herself for your voyeuristic sexual gratification. Wouldn't like to be a female in your gym when you're around.

I don't even think twirking is immodest, I never was one for social mores though I think prudish people should take the plug out of their asses.

Modesty in the way you interact outside of sex though I am probably a little more conservative, I hate for example overt displays of arrogance, not confidence but the sort of immodest and boastful crap that comes out of some peoples mouths, Americans are particularly well known for this as a nation, being regarded by most Europeans as being brash, boastful in comparison with say the Dutch. That said it obviously does not apply to everyone but when you think of arrougance like that I always tend to picture an American, perhaps a twat with a massively oversized US Flag on his back lawn and a Marines forever T-shirt, you know who I mean.

Bill Wiltrack wrote:.
Is modesty a natural, instinctive state or do you think it is learned?
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Depends which form of modesty you're talking about?

If you mean the one related to nudity then it appears to be taught and mainly by the religious as evidenced by the various cultural responses to the subject. But I'm sure someone with a cultural anthropological background can put me right.

What do you mean by 'instinct'?

In the past, I read an excellent study of modesty.
http://www.amazon.com/Return-Modesty-Di ... ds=modesty

The other day I finished rereading a book about the virtue of reverence.
http://www.amazon.com/Reverence-Renewin ... +reverence
I'm now about to draft a letter to Professor Woodruff. His book is a magnificent study, but I disagree with his assertion that reverence is not a conservative virtue.

Am I being irreverent in daring to disagree with a professor of classics?

I was taught to pursue a life of virtue by studying and reflecting upon the virtues, starting with Aristotle, and trying to cultivate them in my life.

No you're doing what you are supposed to do, University is meant to teach you to think independently so you are in fact following protocol.

Bill Wiltrack wrote:.
Is modesty a natural, instinctive state or do you think it is learned?
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In Reverence, Professor Woodruff defines a virtue as " a capacity, cultivated by experience and training, to have emotions that make you feel like doing good things." p. 62
http://www.amazon.com/Reverence-Renewin ... +reverence

My grandson attends the Nova Classical Academy. http://www.novaclassical.org/ When I visited recently on "grandparents day", I noticed that the word "virtue" was displayed in the classroom. I commented to my son and he said, "Yes, Jeno is always talking about trying to get one of the virtues." The school explicitly tries to cultivate virtuous behavior in the students, a goal that is rarely found in any US public school.

Bill, you did ask for an opinion. You framed the post in the form of a question by using words. I gave you my opinion; others did as well. You were expecting something different?