What Does Jerusalem have to Do with Athens?: The Moral Vision of the Book of Proverbs and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics serve as a more useful heuristic model for understanding the moral vision of the book of Proverbs than Socrates’ ethical theory. While Socratic ethics provide a general guide to portions of the sapiential material, Aristotle’s emphasis on the organic relationship betwe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ansberry, Christopher B. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: The National Association of Professors of Hebrew 2010
In: Hebrew studies
Year: 2010, Volume: 51, Issue: 1, Pages: 157-173
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Summary:Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics serve as a more useful heuristic model for understanding the moral vision of the book of Proverbs than Socrates’ ethical theory. While Socratic ethics provide a general guide to portions of the sapiential material, Aristotle’s emphasis on the organic relationship between moral and intellectual virtues as well as the role of character in ethical decisions accounts for the variegated materials within the book as a whole. In the view of the differences between Aristotle and Socrates’ ethical theory and their relationship to the book of Proverbs, Aristotle’s ethics illuminate the moral dimensions of the document. Similar to Aristotle, the sages present the collaboration of character and intellect as the acme of moral development: character proves the constitutional base for the appropriation of wisdom and determines the goal of virtuous activity, while wisdom identifies the means for achieving that goal in a particular situation. This teleological thesis captures the fundamental features of sapiential ethics.
ISSN:2158-1681
Contains:Enthalten in: Hebrew studies