virtue

Aristotle's virtue theory / "golden mean"

courage vs. recklessness or cowardice

civility patience

For anarchists, a golden mean is sought — as a 'regulatory ideal' in that it is the seeking itself that is important, not the arriving at a perfect and final destination (see teleology) — between the polarities of individuality and sociality. Indeed anarchism's greatest strength as a philosophy lies in its capacity for complex engagement with open-ended questions and ambiguous concepts.

I suspect this might be related to what Suissa means when she declares that an anarchist approach to education would be "broadly aristotelian."

see also charity: Charles Dickens, (esp. satire of "telescopic" philanthropy of Mrs. Jealoby [sp?] in Bleak House) charitable reading & interpretation (Donald Davidson, quoted by Joseph Heath in discussion of collective action problems...)

Straight with a Twist p. 3 Anzaldua appropriation vs proliferation "helps heal breaches of knowledge."

However, despite the philosophical attractiveness of such conceptions of virtue, there have been strong arguments (supported by pursuasive empirical evidence) against "virtue ethics" and related ideas of education intended to foster morrally excellent character.

Tao Three treasures: mercy, moderation, modesty

Avi Mintz Journal of Philosophy of Education, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2008 Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain Understanding Evil and Educating Heroes

"Just as Milgram showed that people could be easily encouraged to act cruelly when they were led to such actions in small increments, Zimbardo believes that people can be led to act charitably, helpfully, compassionately, etc., if appropriate situational forces encourage such behaviours." (194)

This is clearly in harmony with the "libertarian paternalism" advocated by ———— in their book //Nudge//.

None of which is to say that virtue(s) and character-building can have no place in education, however they are clearly inadequate on their own, and present problems that must be considered.

Vigilance...