Aristotle Virtuous Character Analysis - 1284 Words

Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, believes that one acquires virtue by exercising moral habituation. Aristotle’s theory of a virtuous character is developed by aligning with the Doctrine of the Mean. The philosopher developed the Doctrine of the Mean in Book II of Nicomachean Ethics to serve the purpose of conveying Aristotle’s concept on virtue ethics. A virtuous character can be considered as a person who acts in the right manner through habit and practice rather than reasoning. Aristotle writes, â€Å"Virtue, then, is a state involving rational choice, consisting in a mean relative to us and determined by reason - the reason, that is, by reference to which the practically wise person would determine it† (Aristotle, 30). Aristotle’s†¦show more content†¦He is stating that virtue is not just a state but more of an exceptional state of character. He claims that the state of character arises from the reiteration of similar activities. In this case, r epetition of moral acts will cause one to be more virtuous. Out of the three things that we find in our soul, virtue can only be found in our states of character. When acting along the Doctrine of the Mean, you need to find a balance between the two extremes, vice of deficiency and vice of excess. The mean is not necessarily straight in the middle of the spectrum. It all depends on the situation and the person themselves. Each individual has their own particular spectrum where they categorize each virtue on various locations between too little and too much. Knowing that it’s based on our excellent state of character, our virtue arises from acts that are deemed moral and that contributes to our character, which proves Aristotle’s argument of a virtuous character is born by acting accordingly to the Doctrine of the Mean. A virtuous character is not something that can be created naturally or inherited. Our surroundings and our actions is what contributes to who we are. A virtuous character is created when a person repeatedly commits moral acts. We can infer that a non-virtuous character is a person who repeatedly commits non-moral acts. A case that recently went viral is the Cyntoia Brown case. At theShow MoreRelatedMoral Reasoning And Ethical Decision Making1144 Words   |  5 Pagesacts. One of these theories is the virtue ethics, which is used to determine whether an act is virtuous or vicious. David Hume and Aristotle were among the first philosophers to use virtue ethics to differentiate between virtues and vices. According to Hume, an act is virtuous if it represents what a virtuous person would characteristically do in the same circumstances. Basically, it means that a virtuous act must be approved by every person who considers it in the light of social flourishing. 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