Account of virtue
Aristotle perceives virtue as a twofold phenomenon which comprises both thought and character. The thought aspect of virtue stems arises from teaching. It means that thought develops after some time and experience. The character aspect of virtue stems from the habit (ethos) of a person. The classification of virtue as thought and character rejects idea that it can occur naturally because “nothing natural can be habituated to be otherwise” (Aristotle 138). Aristotle observed that habit is an important element of virtue because most learning takes place by developing a habit for some things. He added that even though some things are provided by nature, they cannot be exhibited unless we receive capacities for them. These capacities develop by habitually performing activities. For example, good builders emerged from doing so badly. Even good teachers arose from doing badly. But through habituation, they learn to perfect their work.
Aristotle opined that “actions control what sorts of states will come about” (Aristotle 146). He further illustrates that fear and courage are virtues that are developed through the actions of people who exhibit them. For example, an individual that avoids fear and endures nothing becomes a coward while the individual that fears nothing becomes courageous. This proposition is true because human actions guide their thought processes. This is the reason Aristotle opined that a person is a product of his actions. In this regard, a person becomes anything he wants to become from the actions he exhibits. It also explains why in a society, some people become just while other people become unjust. The habits that people form in their thoughts determine their actions. Thus, people should watch their habits, lest they become their actions.
On the state of character, Aristotle was concerned with the feelings and actions of human beings. He opined that excess, deficiency and the mean reside in these feelings. He gave the example of fear, pity, appetite, confidence, pleasure and pain as the basic examples of feelings that can be in excess or little. The excess or lack of these feelings can result in either pleasure or pain. According to Aristotle, when people develop the above feelings when “they should, in relation to the people they should, for the sake of what they should, and as they should” (Aristotle 177), they define the true character of virtue. In light of this premise, there would be no violence or pain if people expressed their feelings in relation to virtue as the mean. The virtue as the mean sets the scale upon which human character and behavior should premise. Aristotle rightly observed that human actions such as adultery and theft stem from the excess and deficiency and described them as errors. However, he recognized that in some cases, what is considered the mean can be an extreme such as the case of courage or temperament. In light of the foregoing, an individual who commits a murder exhibits an extreme character even if he does it for the sake of what he should.
Aristotle account of virtue reveal that people have the inherent ability to do good or bad. The thought and character of every individual defines their virtue. The study reveals that people exhibit extreme conditions which are guided by their feelings. The ability to demonstrate some feelings is contingent upon the desire to express it. However, Aristotle opines that the virtue of mean (the midpoint of the extremes) is the true definition of virtue. He explains the mean as containing neither excess nor deficiency except in the case where the mean is an extreme in itself.
Work Cited
Aristotle. Virtue Ethics: Book II. Print
