Reason!
According to Aristotle, this part of the rational soul, along with the obeying element, moderates the non-rational, or appetitive and vegetative parts of the soul.
What is the commanding (or authoritative) element?
"...happiness was said to be a certain sort of activity of soul in accord with virtue."
Who is Aristotle?
There is no virtue in the Aristotelian sense, according to Machiavelli, there is only this.
What is special ability or prowess?
This is how Thomas Aquinas distinguishes between a good and a bad monarch.
What is a king and a tyrant?
According to Augustine, all human beings are metaphysically equal for these two reasons.
What are being created in the image of God and being sinners?
Through reason alone, according to John Locke, human beings may discern this type of law.
What is the natural law?
"Hence, it is necessary to a prince, if he wants to maintain himself, to learn to be able not to be good, and to use this or not use this according to necessity."
Who is Machiavelli?
King David's virtue, after acts of gross injustice, consisted of this.
What is repentance?
Socrates argued against the rule of the many and yet lived under this type of government.
What is a pure democracy?
For Aristotle, there is no human equality other than this.
What is the (basic) use of reason?
Christine de Pizan claimed that Lady Reason enables humans to see and know themselves through the use of both reason and this.
What is faith?
"Again, whatever is in accord with nature is best, for in all things nature does what is best."
Who is Thomas Aquinas?
According to Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, people want to act virtuously for this reason.
What is happiness?
This type of faith-based rule can graft onto any form of government.
What is a theocracy?
Machiavelli's concept of human equality is rooted in this.
What is individual selfishness (or viciousness)?
Socrates asserted that faith cannot be contrary to reason when he publicly challenged this.
What is Athenian law (or public opinion)?
"For the body politic to function properly, therefore, it is necessary that the head be healthy, in other words, virtuous."
Who is Christine de Pizan?
Augustine and Evodius display this Aristotelian concept when they help each other over time come to a better understanding of the truth of free will.
What is friendship?
The Israelites made this type of agreement with God, binding themselves and their posterity to God's law and protection.
What is a covenant?
Women and men are metaphysically equal, Christine de Pizan argued, for these two main reasons.
What are being made in the image of God and having the same capacity for higher reason?
Thomas Aquinas argued that not only are faith and reason complementary, but that this is ordered to reveal both human and divine truths.
What is nature?
"Just one possibility remains: only its own will and free choice can make the mind a companion of cupidity."
Who is Augustine?
Although they disagree on details, Aristotle, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Christine de Pizan, and Machiavelli all agree that virtue is this.
What is an activity (or an action)?
According to John Locke, human beings can legitimately create any form of government out of the state of nature as long that government does this.
What is ensure the protection of natural rights?
In a state of nature, according to John Locke, all human beings equally have a right and claim to these.
What are the fruits of the earth (resources)?