Aristotle: Virtue, Habit, and the Mean

Aristotle philosophy of virtue requires that we establish good habits and seek the mean. For Aristotle, habits are essential to virtue. In order to be good we need to understand the relationship between habits and the golden mean. The mean for Aristotle is the intermediate action or decision between two bad alternatives. When doing anything we can perform an action well or badly. We can do badly in two ways, making an error of excess or of deficiency. For Aristotle virtue means consistently finding the intermediate between these two extremes: the mean. But finding the mean is not enough. We also have to develop good habits in order to be virtuous. We need do the right thing, over and over again, until we have habituated ourselves to virtue. All the while, we need to be careful we are not acquiring bad habits. #Aristotle #Habit #philosophy Want to learn more about Aristotle's philosophy? Check out this video.👇 📚Aristotle: How to Be Happy    • Aristotle: How to Be Happy   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📗 CONNECT WITH ME! I use Instagram to keep in touch with students and friends.   / greatbooksprof   📓 Find more on TIKTOK! ⏱ Short videos on philosophy, books, and life.   / greatbooksprof   📗 STUDY WITH ME: Learn about the Great Books Program at St. Thomas University 🇨🇦 https://www.stu.ca/greatbooks/ 📗 CHECK OUT MY BOOKS: Shakespeare between Machiavelli and Hobbes: Dead Body Politics https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498514095... Magic in Early Modern England: Literature, Politics and Supernatural Power https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498575515... 📫 E-MAIL: Business inquiries should be directed to [email protected]