Aristotle(NE) Voluntary Action
Human beings must learn over time how to be virtuous by always aiming at what is good. By habituating themselves into this thought process, virtue of character can developed. A person that has virtue of character will aim at what is good and will choose the proper activity to reach this end. To determine whether or not a person has virtue of character, we must study his voluntary actions.Aristotle believes that a voluntary action is composed of wish, deliberation, and decision. Because all human activity aims at an end, we must first desire a plausible end to achieve; a human being can only wish for something in which he is the principle actor. As human beings, we perceive this end that we desire to be good; therefore, we must contemplate the possible activities that can be embarked upon in orde
Because each situation is subject to interpretation, he only supplies his audience with guidelines rather than a manual. This would be an end that is an actual good as opposed to an end that is an apparent good. This is the beginning of an action and the direct result of the wish and deliberation. Aristotle provides us with a model for how to have virtue of character. The last part of voluntary action is decision. This is because a person that acts on spirit or appetite has not made a decision but rather is acting on an irrational desire. By applying these principles, we can develop virtue of character over time through habituation. For this person, bravery would be an apparent good because it would be pleasurable to him, but cowardice would be the actual good due to the fact that it would bring him closer to the mean. It is because of this that Aristotle says, ". Therefore, the action cannot be considered virtuous because it is not aimed at an actual good. In this deliberation, a person should promote the activity that aims at the mean between excess and deficiency. We must sometimes incline toward the excess, sometimes toward the deficiency; for that is the easiest way to hit the intermediate and good condition (30).
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