Question

1. When Aristotle writes that moral virtue is a "mean", what does he mean? Have you ever used such a model to solve a personal dilemma?

2. Don't we all strive for moral virtue? What would Aristotle think of society today? What would he say we did wrong?

Answer 1

1. The actions that avoid the excess and deficiency and thereby express and reflect goodness is termed as the moral virtue. It is acquired by perennial practice.

The regular utilisation of the moral virtue transforms into habits that ultimately give birth to good characters. For example a person with neither the excess food intake nor the very little consumption/ deficiency, will consume food in exactly in the optimum required manner which is the mean.

Yes, i have used Aristotle's assertion/ proposition in solving the ethical dilemmas many a times. When it was about standing by the side of the girl who was the victim of regular eve- teasing, and harm to self identity and esteem, instead of displaying a coward behaviour (deficiency) or Rashness(excess), the mean/ courageousness was chosen as an effort to react and make the other side realise that eve- teasing is immoral/ unethical and just.

2. No. I don's think that we human beings in the twenty first century strive for moral virtue. This is because most of the times we either reflect the "excess" from our actions or "deficiency". Consumerism, thirst after money/ name and fame, a lot of products and services to be used, unnecessary collection of things that conveys futility,

Anger, lust, indecisiveness, infinite number of desires, greed, ego, jealousy, exploitation of nature and still many more aspects of human life reflect the negligence of "mean'/ moral virtue and inclination towards either excess or deficiency. Aristotle says that the biggest victory is winning the desires and the self.