Editing Hierarchy (section)

===Ethics, behavioral psychology, philosophies of identity===
[[File:Hierarchy Of Purposes.jpg|thumb|right|alt=|Career-oriented purposes can be diagrammed using a hierarchy describing how less important actions support a larger goal.]]
In [[ethics]], various [[virtues]] are enumerated and sometimes organized hierarchically according to certain brands of [[virtue theory]].

In some of these random examples, there is an asymmetry of 'compositional' significance between levels of structure, so that small parts of the whole hierarchical array depend, for their meaning, on their membership in larger parts. There is a hierarchy of activities in human life: productive activity serves or is guided by the moral life; the moral life is guided by practical reason; practical reason (used in moral and political life) serves contemplative reason (whereby we contemplate God). Practical reason sets aside time and resources for contemplative reason.