For example, on page 31 line 10 he says "Concerning giving and taking money, the mean condition is generosity" and line 20 "And concerning honor and dishonor, the mean condition is greatness of soul."
I am confused by what Aristotle is saying by these things. My interpretation of it, is that Aristotle believes that we all have certain innate feelings and emotions, and by choice we can choose to act upon these innate feelings for good or bad purposes (ex. giving and taking money respectively). Almost all of chapter 7 is devoted to Aristotle talking about these means, and what actions are connected to them. I could be completely wrong, but as I was reading this chapter and noticed the repetition of his writing I thought it was important enough to bring up.
What do you think Aristotle is trying to say in this chapter?
What I understood from this chapter was that Aristotle was saying that someone with virtue would almost fit these means. So the person who focuses on neither pain nor pleasure, but rather on temperance, the mean between the two, is more likely to be a person of virtue.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that he is saying people have a choice to act in these ways. The way I see it is that people learn to act in a certain way, as we talked about in class today. Examples from family members and ideas seen on television as a child influence the choices a person will make. If said person was taught well and took in positive examples, they will most likely make decisions that fall into what Aristotle describes as the means, thus making them a more virtuous person.
I'm not sure how on I am with this, but like I said, it's just the way I understood it.
I think by the mean of each action, he's saying the amount present of that particular mean determine how one will act.
ReplyDeletei.e., someone with a lot of generosity will give money, as opposed to someone who isn't very generous. The same goes for honor and dishonor; those with a great soul will give and be given honor, whereas those with not-so-great souls dishonor those around them, and are they themselves dishonored.
I think when Aristotle talks about the "mean" in these situations he's telling us that moderation is key in living a balanced life. He gives us two examples that are extremes, and then says that somewhere in between is the right way to react. So the "mean" is what we should shoot for in our emotions and actions. Extreme behavior is is what we should avoid.
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