Our sceptical view, paradoxically, has to involve a generous giving of the benefit of the doubt, remaining open to the possibility that power can be used for virtuous purposes.
Even this external means of seeing ourselves which, Seneca deplores, is mostly put to less than virtuous uses serves a purpose; for example, the young see the bloom of their youth, thus being reminded that this is the time for study and bravery (NQ 1.16.1 17.10; cf. Williams 2005).
Accordingly, it would not serve Aristotle's purpose to consider virtuous activity in isolation from all other goods.
For teleological thinking generally involves the idea that the best life for a being is one that fulfills the being's natural end or purpose, and being virtuous is the end or purpose for which humans were designed.
The full report, Virtuous Banking: Placing ethos and purpose at the heart of banking, was launched on Tuesday by the chairman of the Banking Standards Review Council, Sir Richard Lambert.
In social entrepreneurship literature, social value creation is inclusive of altruistic and virtuous behavior, and promotion of social purposes (Choi & Majumdar 2014).
Purpose: The current literature on social capital, especially among sociologists and political scientists, is characterized by a focus on its "civic" nature and consequently on the role that virtuous behavior plays in fostering democracy and national development.
In my experience, having an occupied mind and a purpose in prison is part of a virtuous cycle – but if you're not working or enrolled in education, you really feel like nothing changes except the plot of EastEnders.
The research work aims to support the engineering of sustainable and viable industrial systems that can support a transition to the Circular Economy by engineering them to act in productive harmony and with restorative purposes with the ecosphere (e.g. virtuous business value cycles).
