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The questions of how many virtues there are, how the virtues relate to one another, and is any one virtue more important than any other, can be answered by looking either at the history of the subject or at the logic lying behind it. A recent survey across various cultures around the world concluded that there are six virtues. Western tradition on the other hand maintains that there are seven. Other numbers have been put forward and this article will look briefly at these, at any underlying structure that has been proposed, and, by taking the major virtues in turn, at the alternative view put forward by many that there is a whole spectrum of virtues to contend with. ==Primary virtues== In Aristotle’s opinion, the different kinds of virtue arose from the nature of being itself: In order to know what a good man is, he said, we must firstly determine what man himself is.〔Aristotle ''Ethics'' 1097b〕 Human beings were seen as part of a wider concept of being which had previously been distinguished from non-being by containing within itself variety and interrelationship.〔Plato ''Parmenides'' 144; ''cf'' ''Phaedo'' 110〕 For Aristotle there were three kinds of relationship through which people engage with the world and from these arose three different kinds of virtue:〔Aristotle ''Metaphysics'' 1020b; ''cf'' ''De Generatione'' 333a〕 *Firstly, numerical or geometrical relations. These led to a sense of order and proportion and the virtues of fairness and justice. *Secondly, the relations of cause and effect. These led through the need for material satisfaction to the virtues of temperance and prudence. *Thirdly, knowledge-based relations. These led through our notions of culture and significance to the virtues of honesty, propriety and wisdom. Plato in his dialogue ''Laws'' had already abstracted from this list the three virtues of “justice and temperance and wisdom”〔Plato ''Laws'' 630〕 and in ''Phaedrus'' he referred to the three “heavenly virtues” of “justice, temperance and knowledge”.〔Plato ''Phaedrus'' 248〕 In the ''Republic'' and ''Symposium'' he referred to four virtues adding “courage” to the list; and in ''Protagoras'', ''Meno'' and ''Phaedo'' he talked of five virtues adding “piety”, “magnificence” and “nobility” respectively.〔''Republic'' 427; ''Symposium'' 194; ''Protagoras'' 349; ''Meno'' 74; ''Phaedo'' 114 〕 But the three primary virtues remained fairly constant throughout his work and it will be useful to look at each in turn before looking at any others that there might be. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Virtues (number and structure)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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