I have recently been thinking of some ideas for a small local program I might start after completing my philosophy degree, aimed at promoting civic virtue in a fun way. I have posted these ideas in a blog called “Code of the Virtue Knight” and would greatly appreciate any constructive input.
(note to mods: if there is some problems with asking for input on a linked site of mine, I can edit this post to include the material on the site, although it is somewhat lengthy - please let me know)
Knight? Perhaps you could come up with a better name, as ‘knights’ were not virtuous at all. Also they were strictly Christian and associated with the Crusades.
You’re speaking of the Christian Knights. I see no reason why there can’t be other kinds of knights. And not all knights were associated with the crusades. That’s kind of like saying that “soldiers” were associated with a specific conflict so all soldiers are bad.
What about the Knights of Columbus, the Jedi Knights, and the London Knights hockey team? Are all of these just guises for support of bloody religious wars?
There are also the Blue Knights (a police organization), the Golden Knights (an Army skydiving team), the Pythian Knights (a charitable organization), Corporate Knights (a Canadian org for corporate responsibility), and so on.
The word can be more broad than just one historical example. It can generally mean a group that stands on certain principles and (in some sense) “Fights” for them. Of course, this would be a metaphore for promoting virtue in society in the case of the VK program.
Haha! Yep
Batman is someone who fights for certain principles, although they are very different from the historical knights (and from the VK), as are his methods.
It’s amazing to me, but in other forums I’ve run into other folks who can’t get past one particular historical example of the word. But that’s to be expected I think. It seems that what I’m trying to do is not very traditional (a virtue-promoting org open to all genders, races, and religions). So it stands to reason that I would either have to just make up a word (which seems silly to me), or take a current word that might be different in many ways, but use it in a new way. In doing so, I guess I’ll just have to know that I will have to occasionally explain our use of the term.
Judging by the phrasing of your questions, I take it you are supportive of the notion. If so, then thanks very much!
To answer your questions, I will likely be going back to school in several months, perhaps completing my degree in a few years. So, we’re talking about 2007-2009ish.
But until then, it is my hope to further develop these ideas, incorporating things I learn in my degree about ethics (and teaching ethics) and also taking into account things I learn about those already out there doing similar work. In addition, it is my hope to bring in some other minds over the net to help me develop these concepts. As for a starting point, I haven’t decided an exact location yet, but it will definitely be in the U.S.
And for your last question, what I need to start isn’t much. I plan to simply make up some informational brochures about the program and seek out participants from my local area. I might use a room at the public library, a university room, a perhaps community center. I’ll have a jeweler make up the pins for me, which shouldn’t be much money, and then off we go. I’ll also want to arrange for some fun events for the younger participants, in which case I might seek out other organizations to work with.
If you have any ideas or input, please feel free to let me know, as I’m always open to ideas and concerns.
and sign up there it would be most appreciated. That way, I would have a way to reach you when things develop, and it would also be nice to have another name on the supporters list
