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Single Idea 5213

[catalogued under 20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 4. Responsibility for Actions]

Full Idea

When a man repents of an act done through ignorance, he is considered to have acted involuntarily; but a man who does not repent of such an act is another case, so he may be said to have acted non-voluntarily.

Gist of Idea

If you repent of an act done through ignorance, you acted involuntarily, not non-voluntarily

Source

Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics [c.334 BCE], 1110b22)

Book Reference

Aristotle: 'Ethics (Nicomachean)', ed/tr. ThomsonJ A K/TredennickH [Penguin 1976], p.113


A Reaction

It strikes me as crucial to virtue theory that how you acted could be partly decided by your attitude AFTER the event. There is a 'residue' (Hursthouse) to every action, of guilt, pride etc. 'Voluntary' evidently has internal/external components.