Intermedi Virtue In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle highlights in Nicomachean Ethics, that moral virtue is “acquired by repetition of the corresponding acts,” thus virtue is acquired, not innate (Cahn 134). By doing moral acts repeatedly one becomes wise, “having or showing experience, knowledge, and good judgment” therefore, to be virtuous an individual is requires a plethora of wisdom, which is not learned or taught nor inherent, but from the source of trial and error. Additionally, after virtue becomes a habit the individual would then become virtuous. To be virtuous is thereby a “state of an individual's character, not a passion, nor a faculty” (Cahn 137). Character is determined by the the experiences and events that happens throughout an individual’s lifetime, for a character is not simply given at birth. With that, to be virtuous one must find the
If virtue was intrinsic then that would result in individuals having no choice, but to be virtuous or unvirtuous. For instance, if it is already ingrained for an individual to be unvirtuous then it is impossible to force habit on them to become virtuous, such as the example Aristotle uses of the rock moving downward cannot be trained to move upwards (Cahn 134). Therefore, an individual is born as a clean slate who inmates and acts upon the imitations. This is how an individual becomes virtuous or unvirtuous, depending on the teachers around them. For example, a builder is taught by another builder and becomes a good builder if and only if he or she repeatedly does good building, which was taught. Then when the good or moral action is done religiously is when the individual becomes virtuous. Furthermore, individuals learn by doing and by doing just or unjust.Again, virtue cannot be intuitive because then there would be unnecessary use for teachers, on account of already being born virtuous or