Aristotle on Moral Virtue
Aristotle on Moral Virtue
Phil 103
19 Apr 2006
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher c 384-322 BC. He presented us with an idea of moral virtue that is unique. He believed that each moral virtue was a delicate balance of a certain characteristic. This balance was kept between the two extremes: The vice of deficiency and the vice of excess. This balance was unique to each person, and to discover it one must use reason, the highest capacity of the soul.
For example, we can look at the virtue of courage. The characteristic that Aristotle saw to be balanced was fear. Too much fear, and one would be guilty of the vice of cowardice. Too little fear, and one would have the vice of foolhardiness. Applying Aristotle’s theory to the virtue of compassion is surprisingly easy. The first step is defining the characteristic to be balanced. For this exercise we will use empathy. Empathy is the ability to feel or understand the pain, sufferings and challenges of another person. Without empathy we could not feel compassion for another’s situation. The vices for the extremes of empathy must be discovered as well. A lack of empathy could be called a vice of cruelty. With no empathy one would have no compassion, and with no compassion one would be cruel and unforgiving of others. An overabundance of empathy could be considered a vice of co-dependency. With too much empathy one would be overcome by the situation of others, and would sacrifice all personal progress in life in order to alleviate other’s problems. Patience however is a virtue that does not fit into Aristotle’s theory. In examining patience, there is no good characteristic to balance. Self control comes close, but doesn’t quite fit the virtue. An excess of self-control is not simply impatience, but a more hedonistic and want-gratifying state of being. An abundance of self control leads to more patience, upsetting the parameters of the theory. Another candidate for the characteristic of patience
Phil 103
19 Apr 2006
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher c 384-322 BC. He presented us with an idea of moral virtue that is unique. He believed that each moral virtue was a delicate balance of a certain characteristic. This balance was kept between the two extremes: The vice of deficiency and the vice of excess. This balance was unique to each person, and to discover it one must use reason, the highest capacity of the soul.
For example, we can look at the virtue of courage. The characteristic that Aristotle saw to be balanced was fear. Too much fear, and one would be guilty of the vice of cowardice. Too little fear, and one would have the vice of foolhardiness. Applying Aristotle’s theory to the virtue of compassion is surprisingly easy. The first step is defining the characteristic to be balanced. For this exercise we will use empathy. Empathy is the ability to feel or understand the pain, sufferings and challenges of another person. Without empathy we could not feel compassion for another’s situation. The vices for the extremes of empathy must be discovered as well. A lack of empathy could be called a vice of cruelty. With no empathy one would have no compassion, and with no compassion one would be cruel and unforgiving of others. An overabundance of empathy could be considered a vice of co-dependency. With too much empathy one would be overcome by the situation of others, and would sacrifice all personal progress in life in order to alleviate other’s problems. Patience however is a virtue that does not fit into Aristotle’s theory. In examining patience, there is no good characteristic to balance. Self control comes close, but doesn’t quite fit the virtue. An excess of self-control is not simply impatience, but a more hedonistic and want-gratifying state of being. An abundance of self control leads to more patience, upsetting the parameters of the theory. Another candidate for the characteristic of patience