In this episode, Dr. Michael Giles, a political science professor at LCC, delves into the intersection of philosophy and political science, with a focus on political theory, which he studied extensively in graduate school. His passion for the humanities stems from a deep interest in what it means to live as a good human being.

In part two of this episode, Jim and Michael move from talking about the need to pursue a virtuous life, to talking about specific virtues philosophers and psychologists have proposed as necessary for the good life. Aristotle would submit that while living a virtuous life does not necessarily promise a happy life, but living without virtue does promise living an unhappy one., They explore some of the neuroscience of developing the ability to make healthy behaviors a positive and enduring habit, and conclude by discussing what Aristotle mean when he wrote about defining the great-souled person as one who neither overestimates or underestimates one’s potential to do, be and receive greatness.

• PDF: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics