Saturday, January 19, 2008

Vigen Guroian on the Virtues

“When the moral imagination is wakeful, the virtues come to life, filled with personal and existential as well as social significance. The virtues needn't be the dry and lifeless data of moral theories or the ethical version of hygienic rules in health science classes; they can take on a life that attracts and awakens the desire to own them for oneself. We need desperately to adopt forms of moral pedagogy that are faithful to the ancient and true vocation of the teacher -- to make persons into mature and whole human beings, able to stand face to face with the truth about themselves and others, while desiring to correct their faults and to emulate goodness and truth wherever it is found. We need to take greater advantage of the power in stories to humanize the young . . . .”

~Vigen Guroian, Tending the Heart of Virtue

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