Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 86
GREEK PHILOSOPHY the word arete must be equated with piety and virtue in every form of goodness that they may refer to: ‘Any lingering doubt on this point in my readers' mind may be resolved by referring them to the fact that whenever he brings the general concept under scrutiny as when he debates the teachability of arete in the Protagoras and the Meno he assumes without argument that its sole constituents or "parts" (μópia, μεpη) are five qualities which are, incontestably, the Greek terms of moral commendation par excellence: andreia (“manliness, 'courage”), sōphrosynē ("temperance," "moderation"), dikaiosynē ("justice," "righteousness"), hosiotes ("piety," "holiness"), sophia ("wisdom”). ” " " 66 ,7. Thus Vlastos is very rational in his stance that it is far more important to search aretes' intended central meaning which Socrates himself consistently consistently portrays portrays and highlights. . To this intended meaning of arete another great scholar, Christopher Janaway, refers when he states that. Socrates: 86 ‘. . . was concerned with questions of ethics, in particular with defining the virtues (justice, wisdom, courage, piety, temperance). This is how Socrates is portrayed by Plato in the early dialogues, and is how he makes Socrates describe himself in the Apology. ” 'Central propositions in Socrates' ethics are: virtue is knowledge; all the virtues are one; virtue is happiness. . . 'Socrates also believes that no one who has knowledge of good and bad can lack any of the virtues ― with such knowledge one must also be courageous, holy, temperate, and just. Finally, he -