Can Ethics Be Taught? by Michael Pakaluk

When I ask whether ethics can be taught, I mean by someone standing up in front of you and speaking, as in a classroom.  Someone speaks about the virtue of courage for instance.  He defines courage. He emphasizes that courage is standing firm in the midst of reasonable fears, not in the absence of fear.  He distinguishes courage from traits that may look like courage but are not courage.  He gives examples of courage.

Has he imparted courage to those who listen to him?  Obviously not.  His listeners will not be one whit more courageous by having listened to him speak. And yet courage is perhaps the most decisive virtue.  No one does the right thing under pressure without courage….

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