The mean between an insincere flatterer and an unpleasant character is a friendly person. 7. Aristotle also says that the mean is “relative to us” a) He means that the mean might be different for different people at different times.
What does Aristotle mean when he says that virtue seeks the mean relative to us?
Virtue, then, is a state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean , i.e. the mean relative to us, this being determined by a rational principle, and by that principle by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it.
What does Aristotle mean by the mean relative to the person?
The article argues that Aristotle takes the mean to be relative neither to character nor to social role, but simply to the agent’s situation . ... However, character relativity vitiates Aristotle’s distinction between what moral people should do and what people should do to become moral.
What does Aristotle mean by claiming that virtue is a mean?
Aristotle defines moral virtue as a disposition to behave in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess, which are vices . ... Virtue is a matter of having the appropriate attitude toward pain and pleasure.
What is mean According to Aristotle?
Similarly, Aristotle’s concept of the mean is often misunderstood. In the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle repeatedly states that virtue is a mean . The mean is a state of clarification and apprehension in the midst of pleasures and pains that allows one to judge what seems most truly pleasant or painful.
Why does Aristotle say that virtue is a mean or intermediate?
That moral virtue is a mean, then, and in what sense it is so, and that it is a mean between two vices, the one involving excess, the other deficiency, and that it is such because its character is to aim at what is intermediate in passions and in actions, has been sufficiently stated.
Which of the following is the highest virtue?
Truth is the highest virtue, but higher still is truthful living.
What does it mean to define virtue as a mean between excesses?
Virtues are “states of character” — as opposed to passions or faculties. ... Virtue is typically the mean (so-called “ golden mean “) between excesses which count as vices. — E.g. Courage is the intermediate between timidity and recklessness. Good intentions are not enough to be virtuous.
What are the three excellences characteristic of virtuous anger?
It is argued that virtue for anger is determined by excellence and deficiency with respect to all three of anger’s psychological functions: appraisal, motivation, and communication .
What is an example of virtuous?
Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence are all examples of virtues. ... The virtuous person is the ethical person .
What is the highest virtue according to Aristotle?
For Aristotle, eudaimonia is the highest human good, the only human good that is desirable for its own sake (as an end in itself) rather than for the sake of something else (as a means toward some other end).
What three requirements does Aristotle give for a virtuous action?
Aristotle proposes three criteria to distinguish virtuous people from people who behave in the right way by accident: first, virtuous people know they are behaving in the right way; second, they choose to behave in the right way for the sake of being virtuous ; and third, their behavior manifests itself as part of a ...
Why according to Aristotle is it difficult to be virtuous?
For moral excellence is concerned with pleasures and pains; it is on account of the pleasure that we do bad things, and on account of the pain that we abstain from noble ones.” If you are not virtuous, then virtue is painful and vice is pleasant . This is why it is difficult to become virtuous.
What is Aristotle’s definition of virtue?
Aristotle explains what virtues are in some detail. They are dispositions to choose good actions and passions , informed by moral knowledge of several sorts, and motivated both by a desire for characteristic goods and by a desire to perform virtuous acts for their own sake.
What is the definition of happiness according to Aristotle?
According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a whole lifetime, all the goods — health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc . — that lead to the perfection of human nature and to the enrichment of human life. This requires us to make choices, some of which may be very difficult.
What is the golden mean and why is it important for Aristotle’s Ethics?
The golden mean focuses on the middle ground between two extremes , but as Aristotle suggests, the middle ground is usually closer to one extreme than the other. ... But completely open communication is both difficult and unwise, so the golden mean is where most organizations should be.
