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Single Idea 22516

[filed under theme 23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / e. Character ]

Full Idea

Virtue is that state of character which chooses the mean, relative to us, in things pleasant and unpleasant, all those in respect of which a man is said to have a certain sort of character according as he enjoys or suffers pain from them.

Gist of Idea

Character is shown by what is or is not enjoyed, and virtue chooses the mean among them

Source

Aristotle (Eudemian Ethics [c.333 BCE], 1227b08)

Book Ref

Aristotle: 'Eudemian Ethics I,II and VIII', ed/tr. Woods,Michael [OUP 1992], p.32

A Reaction

The 'mean' should be understood as what is appropriate, rather than the mere average. Strong anger, for example, is sometimes appropriate. Does Aristotle rule out wild laughter, or frenetic dancing? Is a state of ecstasy wicked?

The 46 ideas with the same theme [concern with good persons, rather than actions]:

433 For man character is destiny [Heraclitus]
541 Virtue comes more from habit than character [Critias]
540 The way you spend your time will form your character [Antiphon]
126 We should ask what sort of people we want to be [Socrates]
118 I would rather be a victim of crime than a criminal [Plato]
5222 A person of good character sees the truth about what is actually fine and pleasant [Aristotle]
4394 People develop their characters through the activities they pursue [Aristotle]
5239 When people speak of justice they mean a disposition of character to behave justly [Aristotle]
4386 Character can be heroic, excellent, controlled, uncontrolled, bad, or brutish [Aristotle, by Urmson]
5250 The three states of character to avoid are vice, 'akrasia' and brutishness [Aristotle]
4379 It is very hard to change a person's character traits by argument [Aristotle]
5874 Character virtues (such as courage) are of the non-rational part, which follows the rational part [Aristotle]
5875 Character (éthos) is developed from habit (ethos) [Aristotle]
22516 Character is shown by what is or is not enjoyed, and virtue chooses the mean among them [Aristotle]
22517 We judge character not by their actions, but by their reasons for actions [Aristotle]
14517 We value our own character, whatever it is, and we should respect the characters of others [Epicurus]
7896 The foolish gradually fill with evil, like a slowly-filled water-jar [Anon (Dham)]
7897 The wise gradually fill with good, like a slowly-filled water-jar [Anon (Dham)]
13305 Character is ruined by not looking back over our pasts, since the future rests on the past [Seneca]
13554 True greatness is never allowing events to disturb you [Seneca]
23324 In the Discourses choice [prohairesis] defines our character and behaviour [Epictetus, by Frede,M]
20480 There is not much point in only becoming good near the end of your life [Montaigne]
20957 We don't choose our characters, yet we still claim credit for the actions our characters perform [Schelling]
21484 A man's character can be learned from a single characteristic action [Schopenhauer]
24126 We contain multitudes of characters, which can brought into the open [Nietzsche]
7191 What does not kill us makes us stronger [Nietzsche]
22871 The good people are those who improve; the bad are those who deteriorate [Dewey]
23896 We see our character as a restricting limit, but also as an unshakable support [Weil]
23893 We don't see character in a single moment, but only over a period of time [Weil]
23894 The concept of character is at the centre of morality [Weil]
23895 We modify our character by placing ourselves in situations, or by attending to what seems trivial [Weil]
20764 In becoming what we want to be we create what we think man ought to be [Sartre]
8070 It would be better to point to failings of character, than to moral wrongness of actions [Anscombe]
22373 People can act out of vanity without being vain, or even vain about this kind of thing [Foot]
22495 Someone is a good person because of their rational will, not their body or memory [Foot]
24010 An admirable human being should have certain kinds of emotional responses [Williams,B]
23279 It is important that a person can change their character, and not just be successive 'selves' [Williams,B]
23280 Kantians have an poor account of individuals, and insist on impartiality, because they ignore character [Williams,B]
5123 Maybe there is no such thing as character, and the virtues and vices said to accompany it [Harman]
5124 If a person's two acts of timidity have different explanations, they are not one character trait [Harman]
5125 Virtue ethics might involve judgements about the virtues of actions, rather than character [Harman]
8043 Characters are the masks worn by moral philosophies [MacIntyre]
23099 It is said that if an agent is not autonomous then their evil actions don't reflect on their character [Kekes]
24002 We over-estimate the role of character traits when explaining behaviour [Goldie]
24004 Psychologists suggest we are muddled about traits, and maybe they should be abandoned [Goldie]
24003 Character traits are both possession of and lack of dispositions [Goldie]