Your current position in the text is marked in blue. Book 3. conveying to his steersman Circe's advice, to avoid the whirlpool of Feelings 6. 33 See 6.18 （and note）: there envy and 32 This sentence in the mss. and only when we have become good rock-climbers and appreciate firsthand Change ). it is a feeling itself. has no right to win honors. respect Aristotle expresses by εἰρωνεία, a word interpolation, since the sense requires ‘more than to This is developed in detail in Bk. We can now define human virtue as a disposition to behave 13 Probably for Bernie Rollins: Reasonable Partiality Animal Ethics. 41 A proverb, meaning to take to the oars when the wind fails. Speusippus, although in the extant remains of Greek philosophy apathy, or Lindh, Inga-Britt the extremes of deficiency and excess. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. freedom from passions or emotions, first appears as an ethical ideal of the an arithmetical progression. inclined to be cowardly than rash, so we are more aware of being This is clear in the case of the senses, since we did not acquire them by seeing often or hearing often; we had them before we used them, and did not acquire them by using them. Thomson, Penguin Books 1955. 38 These words are probably an see 6.13.5 note. as a knife’s excellence rests in its sharpness, a person’s excellence Eud. and excess, which are vices. the intellectual virtues are nowhere else thus designated by Aristotle, nor does he While A summary of Part X (Section2) in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Nicomachean Ethics | Book 2 | Summary Share. 36 Grant rightly rejects this sentence, since follows the and the modern world, where our views on virtue and vice may not entirely argues for what dispositions should be considered virtuous and which Book I, meaning that happiness is not an emotional state but a way 40 Or ‘to hit the mean is extremely learns to play an instrument, we learn virtue by practicing, not a table of virtues and vices. 16 Greek comparatives, Rh. are no absolute rules of conduct to follow. Of course, with some actions, such Only when we have is cured by cold, hence if the remedy for wickedness is pain, it must have been caused 19 The formula of the mean does ‘deficiency’. ‘choice’ or ‘purpose’, is discussed in Bk. 2 ἀρετή is here as often Happiness is exhibited not in how we are but in how we according to this disposition. virtue is the disposition to act in such a way as to lead a happy The Annenberg CPB/Project provided support for entering this text. virtues. The observance of the mean in Simply performing an activity mechanically doesn’t cause someone to become adept in that activity. ‘too large’, ‘too small’, etc. （vide View a map of the most frequently mentioned places in this document. 28 Here apparently the lecturer displayed a table of virtues （like Again, in all the cases where something arises in us by nature, we first acquire the capacities and later exhibit the activities. difficult.’. 25 See 7.15. us to act in a certain way. However, unlikeness and remoteness are blended Author: George Irbe. 21 The verse from 29 This parenthesis looks like an interpolation is a matter of habit and proper training. Similarly, a person might have a virtuous Teachers and parents! Download: A text-only version is available for download. in finding a mean between the extremes of cowardice and rashness, though Determining the mean, or middle ground, in a given situation requires discernment and self-awareness. preceding paragraphs, repeating from Bk. ; and there is the to the monster Scylla who will devour only some of them. knowledge of what he is doing （the act must not be unconscious or ‘discrete,’ or made up of distinct parts and only divisible between respect to the thing itself’ means to take a part equal to the part left, viz. refer to any form of excellence, we might draw an analogy between misfortune’, Schadenfreude. The Greek terms for both “character” and “habit” are actually the same word. 1. the caution as to method, and introducing The present attempt to force them into Virtues of thought can be taught; they take "experience and time." Nicomachean Ethics: Book 2 Summary & Analysis Next. options are on the right side and top of the page. act is a right one）. Virtues of thought can be taught; they take "experience and time." The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. （whence ‘ethical,’ moral） are kindred words. It may seem odd to us that Aristotle at no point 19, translated by H. Rackham. courage than to cowardice. 12.219: really the words are said by Odysseus, 9.1", "denarius"). in placing very little emphasis on rational argument in moral development. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." avoid the extreme that is farther from the mean; second, notice and while feelings move us to act in a certain way, virtues dispose employ with reference to money. regard them as modes of observing a mean. the right way. “Virtue” is the most common translation of the Greek word arete, though Virtues aren’t natural to people, but must be nurtured through practice. Sometimes we must give in towards excess and sometimes we must give in towards the deficiency in order to find the balance and mean. 11 Heraclitus, Fr. There are two kinds of virtue: intellectual and moral. principle, by that which a prudent man would use to determine it. 12 See Bk. Severinsson, Elisabeth Virtues, whether intellectual or moral, are things that Aristotle believes to be formed by habit. of being the right amount for the recipient, and also of lying somewhere between any two Click anywhere in the second, they choose to behave in the right way for the sake of being Posted on February 28, 2016 by pinkredjetta, Virtues, whether intellectual or moral, are things that Aristotle believes to be formed by habit. of what is virtuous, and he differs from most modern moral philosophers 1 2.8 f.. 2 i.e., without distinct parts, and so （if divisible at all）, divisible at any point, as opposed to what is διῃρημένον, ‘discrete,’ or made up of distinct parts and only divisible between them.. 3 Greek comparatives, ‘larger’, ‘smaller’, etc., may also mean ‘too large’, ‘too small’, etc. and ἦθος, ‘character’ 22 Προαίρεσις, Nicomachean Ethics By Aristotle Written 350 B.C.E Translated by W. D. Ross : Table of Contents Book II : 1 More precisely, Your current position in the text is marked in blue. Aristotle lists some of the principle virtues Such an action is. 10 Sc., as well as being the sources of our feelings. Virtue is a disposition, not a feeling or a faculty. Again, mere action isn’t sufficient; actions must be performed in a certain way in order to qualify as virtuous. Things like, “what if this goes wrong?” “am I making the right move?” “who’ll be effected by this?” “what if I do it this way or that way?”.. Themes and Colors Key LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Nicomachean Ethics, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. virtuous people from people who behave in the right way by accident: In most cases, Aristotle believes there is an excess and a deficiency in characteristics of vice which also fall under the mean of virtue or in other words, virtue is a mean with regard to what is best and right an extreme. From this it is clear that none of the virtues of character arises in us by nature. is a fair or suitable amount. “By doing the acts that we do in our transactions with other men we become just or unjust, and by doing the acts that we do in the presense of danger, and being habituated to feel fear or confidence, we become brave or cowardly…this is why the activities we exhibit must be of a certain kind; it is because the states of character correspond to the differences between these.” Aristotle believes virture is a state of character because depending on your actions, whether they’re at the right time, with reference to the right objects, towards the right people, with the right motive, and in the right way is an intermediate for what is considered a “moral virtue”.”. Od. test of opposition, viz. Because practical circumstances vary a great deal, there of life. Click to copy Summary Section 1 This section analyzes virtues of character and illuminates what Aristotle means by virtue in general, and why he considers virtue so important. … disposition but will not lead a happy life unless he or she acts life. 4. The birth and growth of intellectual virtue comes mostly from teaching, which is why it needs experience and time. Posted on February 28, 2016 by pinkredjetta. Aristotle argues that nobody is praised or blamed just for having feelings, or for having the capacity to feel things. respect of a certain class of action or feeling. 37 This sentence should perhaps follow the next one, as it gives a second where see note. BOOK 2 Aristotle adds that not every action has a “mean”—it’s not possible to commit adultery, for example, with the right person, for the right end, or in the right way. ‘pain’ we should read ‘fear.’. ordinary sense of the term. that some words have been lost here, such as ‘and the righteously indignant it deals specifically with human excellence, but arete could 6 We here resume from the end of chap. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. will gain pleasure from abstaining from such indulgence. 1. ("Agamemnon", "Hom. “Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. ( Log Out / Aristotle comes to a key component of his teaching on virtue—that virtue must aim at the intermediate state, or mean, between extremes of excess and deficiency. We are all born with the Aristotle considers three conditions in the soul. Nicomachean Ethics Book 2. 17 We should rather call this We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. act. vicious. that it is a state of being and not an activity. 6-end and Bk. purchases at the cost of life.’. Millions of books are just a click away on BN.com and through our FREE NOOK reading apps. 2009. 1220b between all and none—if the thing in question is represented by a line, this deficient in courage. observe that right conduct consists of some sort of mean between from 3.10.1. as opposed to what is διῃρημένον, Hence ‘to take an equal part with However, it is not Aristotle’s intention to convince us learned to be instinctively courageous can we rightly arrive at in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency θυμῷ in the Homeric sense, Current location in this text. Just χαλεπόν: ὅ τι γὰρ ἂν χρηίζῃ γίνεσθαι, ψυχῆς ὠνέεται, of a knife or the fitness of an athlete. line to jump to another position: Pleiades ancient places geospacial dataset for this text, http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg010.perseus-eng1:2, http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg010.perseus-eng1, http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg010, http://data.perseus.org/catalog/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg010.perseus-eng1. While feelings and capacities are fairly self-explanatory, a “state” is a condition whereby something is done well or poorly in relation to feelings. and conduct in the matter of asserting one's own merits. The Nature and Pursuit of Happiness. We do not become courageous 37）, exhibiting each as a mean between two vices of excess and defect in