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Single Idea 23909

[filed under theme 22. Metaethics / B. Value / 2. Values / b. Successful function ]

Full Idea

There is intrinsic use of a possession, such as of a shoe or a cloak, and its coincidental use - not of course when using a shoe as a weight, but as, for example, selling it or hiring it out (for then a shoe is used as a shoe).

Gist of Idea

Wearing a shoe is its intrinsic use, and selling it (as a shoe) is its coincidental use

Source

Aristotle (Eudemian Ethics [c.333 BCE], 1231b37)

Book Ref

Aristotle: 'Eudemian Ethics', ed/tr. Reeve, C.D.C. [Hackett 2021], p.44


A Reaction

This seems to need a third label, for using the shoe as a weight. 'Inessential use' perhaps, since the intrinsic use points towards the essential nature or function of the shoe.


The 44 ideas from 'Eudemian Ethics'

Happiness involves three things, of which the greatest is either wisdom, virtue, or pleasure [Aristotle]
It is folly not to order one's life around some end [Aristotle]
No one would choose life just for activities not done for their own sake [Aristotle]
Horses, birds and fish are not happy, lacking a divine aspect to their natures [Aristotle]
The thesis of the Form of the Good (or of anything else) is verbal and vacuous [Aristotle]
Everything seeks, not a single good, but its own separate good [Aristotle]
Goods in the soul are more worthy than those outside it, as everybody wants them [Aristotle]
Excellence is the best state of anything (like a cloak) which has an employment or function [Aristotle]
Each thing's function is its end [Aristotle]
Whether the mind has parts is irrelevant, since it obviously has distinct capacities [Aristotle]
Character virtues (such as courage) are of the non-rational part, which follows the rational part [Aristotle]
Character (éthos) is developed from habit (ethos) [Aristotle]
Only a human being can be a starting point for an action [Aristotle]
The two right angles of a triangle necessitate that a quadrilateral has four [Aristotle]
A man is the cause of what is within his power, and what he causes is in his power [Aristotle]
An action is voluntary when it is accompanied by thought of some kind [Aristotle]
We are responsible if our actions reflect our motivation [Aristotle, by Frede,M]
Unlike in inanimate things, in animate things actions have more than one starting point [Aristotle]
What is natural for us is either there at birth, or appears by normal processes [Aristotle]
Acts are voluntary if done knowingly, by the agent, and in his power to avoid it [Aristotle]
Knowing is having knowledge; understanding is using knowledge [Aristotle]
Some emotional states are too strong for human nature [Aristotle]
The deliberative part of the soul discerns explanatory causes [Aristotle]
Choice results when deliberation brings together an opinion with an inclination [Aristotle]
Character is shown by what is or is not enjoyed, and virtue chooses the mean among them [Aristotle]
Virtue is different from continence [Aristotle]
We judge character not by their actions, but by their reasons for actions [Aristotle]
We judge people from their deeds because we cannot see their choices (which matter more) [Aristotle]
Courage follows reason, which tells us to choose what is noble [Aristotle]
Courage from spirit is natural and unconquerable, as seen in the young [Aristotle]
If someone just looks at or listens to beautiful things, they would not be thought intemperate [Aristotle]
Wearing a shoe is its intrinsic use, and selling it (as a shoe) is its coincidental use [Aristotle]
Greatness of soul produces all the virtues - and vice versa [Aristotle]
Possessors of a virtue tend to despise what reason shows to be its opposite [Aristotle]
Honour depends on what it is for, and whether it is bestowed by worthy people [Aristotle]
Nearly all the good and bad states of character are concerned with feelings [Aristotle]
People sometimes exhibit both extremes together, but the mean is contrary to both of them [Aristotle]
Contrary statements can both be reasonable, if they are meant in two different ways [Aristotle]
Akrasia is the clash of two feelings - goodness and pleasure [Aristotle]
Friendship cannot be immediate; it takes time, and needs testing [Aristotle]
Decent people can be friends with base people [Aristotle]
The main function of politics is to produce friendship [Aristotle]
The best cure for mutual injustice is friendship [Aristotle]
Eyes could be used for a natural purpose, or for unnatural seeing, or for a non-seeing activity [Aristotle]