A short treatise on the great virtues : the uses of philosophy in everyday life

Much of the history of philosophy is the history of ethics. From Plato to Sartre, the great philosophers have returned to the central ethical questions of how we are to live good lives; how is it appropriate and virtuous for us to behave, both to ourselves and to others? In addressing these questions, Andre Comte-Sponville returns to the mainstream of much of the Western philosophical tradition with an utterly original exploration of the timeless human virtues. A Short Treatise on the Great Virtues takes as its starting point eighteen human virtues to help us understand 'what we should do, who we should be, and how we should live'. Comte-Sponville offers the reader both a thoughtful and accessible introduction to the history of Western ethics and an exploration of the ways in which the views and claims of the great philosophers can apply - and fail to apply - to our lives today. "Much of the history of philosophy is the history of ethics. From Plato to Sartre, the great philosophers have returned to the central ethical questions of how, particularly if we are not religious, we are to live good lives; how is it appropriate and virtuous for us to behave, both to ourselves and to others? How are we to act when loyalty demands of us one response, honesty another? What are we to do when the demands of justice and compassion conflict?" "In addressing these questions, Andre Comte-Sponville's modestly titled A Short Treatise on the Great Virtues is at once a return to the mainstream of much of the Western philosophical tradition and an utterly original exploration of the timeless human virtues."--BOOK JACKET Contents 8 PROLOGUE 11 POLITENESS 17 FIDELITY 26 PRUDENCE 40 TEMPERANCE 48 COURAGE 54 JUSTICE 70 GENEROSITY 96 COMPASSION 113 MERCY 128 GRATITUDE 142 HUMILITY 150 SIMPLICITY 159 TOLERANCE 167 PURITY 183 GENTLENESS 194 GOOD FAITH 205 HUMOR 221 LOVE 232 Notes 301 Acknowledgments 351 Index 353 About the Author 363 The Reading Generation [A note in Sindhi] 365 Prologue 1 1. POLITENESS 7 2. FIDELITY 16 3. PRUDENCE 30 4. TEMPERANCE 38 s. COURAGE 44 6. JUSTICE 60 7. GENEROSITY 86 8. COMPASSION 1 03 9. MERCY • 1 18 10. GRATITUDE 132 11. HUMILITY 140 12. SIMPLICITY 149 13. TOLERANCE 1 57 14. PURITY 173 15. GENTLENESS 184 16. GOOD FAITH 195 17. HUMOR 211 18. LOVE 222 Notes 291 Acknowledgments 341 Index 343