Aristotle argues that in order to have a fulfilling life, one must be virtuous.
In order to become virtuous, one must strive to partake in virtuous behaviors. One must practice doing virtuous deeds, because with practice comes fluency, and fluency in virtuous actions leads to a virtuous life.
But what makes a behavior virtuous? Behaviors which are easy or convenient are not particularly virtuous. It is those behaviors that are difficult, which often times require going against the majority, that are virtuous. These actions result in some good toward others. This can be used as a definition of virtue: moral excellence or goodness.
“The pleasure or pain that supervenes on what people do should be treated as a sign of their dispositions; for someone who holds back from bodily pleasure and does so cheerfully is a moderate person, while someone who is upset at doing so is self-indulgent, and someone who withstands frightening things and does so cheerfully, or anyway without distress, is a courageous person, while someone who is distressed at them is cowardly. For excellence of character has to do with pleasures and pains: it is because of pleasure that we do bad things, and because of pain that we hold back from doing fine things.” pg 113 II.3
“But most people fail to do these things, and by raking refuge in talk they think that they are philosophizing, and that they will become excellent this way, so behaving rather like sick people, when they listen carefully to their doctors but the fail to do anything of what is prescribed for them. Well, just as the latter, for their part, won’t be in good bodily condition if the look after themselves like that, neither will the former have their souls in good condition if they philosophize like that.” pg 115 1105b10.5
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2 comments:
Oooh..."behaviors which are easy or convenient are not particularly virtuous."
I totally forgot that he argued that. I understand where he's coming from, but what if a person just finds ease in being virtuous? Does that makes them somehow NOT virtuous? For instance, I think it's really easy to return someone's money when they drop it while walking. It's a good thing to return the $20, but am I automatically not particularly virtuous JUST because it wasn't a struggle to be honest and helpful?
Dang. So many layers to ethics!!!
I believe you raise a very good point here. This is also what I understood him to be saying, and is in fact something that I completely agree with for the same reason you stated.
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