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Virtues
The values summarized in Table 2 lead to a consideration of Virtues. I once asked
my upper-secondary philosophy class (most of them boys) if they had heard of or used
the word virtue. Interestingly, virtue in Finnish is hyve, which is also a dessert made
of apples. Some murmuring was returned: “quite old fashioned ... isn’t it something
to eat ...?” But the concept opened up a little when we started talking about Aristotle
(384–322 BC) and his lectures on virtue at the Lyceum in Athens. Virtue is “a mean
state between two vices, one of excess and one of defect. Furthermore, if it is a mean
state in that whereas the vices either fall short of or exceed what is right in feelings
and in actions, virtue ascertains and adopts the mean.”
More recently, Mizzoni (2010) presented lists of virtues (Table 3) and described
the development of virtuous character. In the table, Missoni lists a virtue called
helpful. I’ll formulate it a little and choose helping as a unit of analysis. Idealistic
values courage and justice appear in Mizzoni’s table as virtues. Virtues here are
representatives of the theory of the right, which specifies which actions are right
or which are wrong (cf. Hurka, 2006). What a person values will shape what she
considers virtuous—or “right.”
According to Patton (2002, p. 107), “Heuristics is a form of phenomenological
inquiry that brings to the fore the personal experience and insights of the researcher.”
My philosophical assumptions make me refer here to phenomenology once more,
not as a method, but a philosophy. The informants were not asked to define virtues;
they told about their “lived experiences” of helping/being helped or meeting with
difficulties

Table 3
Sample Lists of Virtues

Aristotle Christian Benjamin Boy Scouts Stephen Covey
(350 BCE) (300 CE) Franklin (1909) (1989)
(1771)
Courage Faith Temperance Trustworthy Be proactive.
Temperance Hope Silence Loyal Begin with the end
Gentleness Charity Order Helpful in mind!
Modesty Prudence Resolution Friendly Put first things first.
Righteous Justice Frugality Courteous Think win/win.
indignation Courage Industry Kind Seek first to
Liberality Temperance Sincerity Obedient understand, then be
understood.
Magnificence Justice Cheerful Synergize

Proper pride Moderation Thrifty Sharpen the saw
Honesty Cleanliness Brave
Wittiness Tranquility Clean
Friendliness Chastity Reverent

Humility

Note. Mizzoni (2010), p. 34.

22 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators