6 ideas
| 23282 | If all that matters in morality is motive and intention, that makes moral luck irrelevant [Williams,B] |
| Full Idea: The idea that one's whole life can be immune to luck has not prevailed (e.g. in Christianity), …but its place has been taken by the idea that moral value can be immune, …if it is motive that counts, and in actions it is not worldly changes but intention. | |
| From: Bernard Williams (Moral Luck [1976], p.20) | |
| A reaction: [compressed] That is, that Kant offers a way to make luck irrelevant to morality. Williams disagrees, but says at least Kant offers 'solace to a sense of the world's unfairness'. |
| 13554 | True greatness is never allowing events to disturb you [Seneca] |
| Full Idea: There is no more reliable proof of greatness than to be in a state where nothing can happen to make you disturbed. | |
| From: Seneca the Younger (On Anger (Book 3) [c.60], §06) | |
| A reaction: He specifically opposes Aristotle's view that there are times when anger is appropriate, and failure to be very angry indeed is a failure of character. |
| 13556 | Every night I critically review how I have behaved during the day [Seneca] |
| Full Idea: When the lamp has been removed from my sight, and my wife, no stranger now to my habit, has fallen silent, I examine the whole of my day and retrace my actions and words; I hide nothing from myself. | |
| From: Seneca the Younger (On Anger (Book 3) [c.60], §36) |
| 7903 | The six perfections are giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom [Nagarjuna] |
| Full Idea: The six perfections are of giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom. | |
| From: Nagarjuna (Mahaprajnaparamitashastra [c.120], 88) | |
| A reaction: What is 'morality', if giving is not part of it? I like patience and vigour being two of the virtues, which immediately implies an Aristotelian mean (which is always what is 'appropriate'). |
| 13553 | Anger is a vice which afflicts good men as well as bad [Seneca] |
| Full Idea: Other vile passions affect only the worst sort of men, but anger creeps up even on enlightened me who are otherwise sane. | |
| From: Seneca the Younger (On Anger (Book 3) [c.60], §04) | |
| A reaction: A very interesting observation for anyone who is trying to analyse the key issues in virtue theory. |
| 13552 | Anger is an extreme vice, threatening sanity, and gripping whole states [Seneca] |
| Full Idea: Other vices drive the mind on, anger hurls it headlong; ..other vices revolt from good sense, this one from sanity; ...other vices seize individuals, this is the one passion that sometimes takes hold of an entire state. | |
| From: Seneca the Younger (On Anger (Book 3) [c.60], §01) | |
| A reaction: He particularly dislikes anger because it is the vice that leads to violence. |