Making comparisons: In describing the “good life” or the “good society,” what commonalities do you see among these four documents? What differences are apparent? How might the authors of each text respond to the ideas of the others?
Placing texts in context: In what ways were these texts reacting against the conventional wisdom of their times? How was each shaped by the social and political circumstances in which it was composed?
Relating spirituality and behavior: What is the relationship between religion, which explores the transcendent realm of the gods or the divine, and moral behavior on earth in each of these documents? How does the “good life” relate to politics?
Defining the “good person”: How do each of these texts characterize the superior person or the fully realized human being? How do they define personal virtue?