Aristotle's Views on Happiness and Essay

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It is only in the middle ground between habits of acting and principles of action that the soul can allow right desire and right reason to make their appearance, as the direct and natural response of a free human being to the sight of the beautiful.

Virtue as the Golden Mean

Aristotle describes virtue as a "hexis," a tendency or disposition induced by our habits to have appropriate feelings. Defective states are "hexeis," tendencies to have inappropriate feelings. Every ethical virtue is a condition intermediate between two other states, one involving excess and the other deficiency. The mean is about the proper emotional response to situations, rather than the proper actions. Aristotle believed that virtue came from character. It is the character that makes us do the good deeds that are virtuous, not the deeds themselves.

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Even if you do manage to find the mean, it's not enough just to follow it. You can do good deeds but unless you have a good character yourself, Aristotle says the actions won't be truly virtuous. You have to keep doing the right thing so that your character can become good, through training, and only then will your good deeds actually be good.

Just as habits of indulgence always stand opposed to habits of abstinence, so too does every principle of action have its opposite principle. Good habituation ensures that we are not swept away by our strongest impulses, and the exercise of intelligence ensures that we will see two worthy sides to every question about action......

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