Aristotle Moral Virtue

Moral virtue does not arise naturally in a human because nothing created by nature can be changed by habit. In other words, moral virtue can only be acquired though repetition of the same sort of activity in the same conditions. This can be observed in a political system, in which legislators pursue to make good citizens by making good behavior a habit through laws. The success or failure of the legislators identifies a good government from a bad one. Therefore, one gains good dispositions by doing good things. Similarly, the way one deals with people defines the person as just or unjust. Aristotle continues his argument by explaining the ethics of how one should act. Ethics is important because it ascertains the nature of goodness and how …show more content…
That is because virtue does not simply consist in correct actions, for it also requires appropriate attitudes that imply pleasure and pain. Pleasure provokes men to do base things and pain discourages from doing benevolent things. At the same time, men pursue or avoid pleasure or pain in the wrong way, at the wrong time, or of the wrong kind. Therefore, the significance of ethics is to be educated to feel pleasure or pain for the right reasons. Subsequently, Aristotle wants to show how ethical virtue and vice are in regards to pleasure and pain in the following way. There are three factors that influence a man’s decisions – fine (attractive), expedient (worthwhile), and pleasant. On the other hand, there are also three factors that determine a man’s avoidance of the actions – shameful, harmful, and painful. Thus, a good man will most likely make the good decision and a bad man will most likely make the wrong decision. He also points out that pleasure is man’s earliest motive and it is difficult to resist it. Hence, the same actions that can be performed differently will destroy …show more content…
He approaches a previously known idea: a man becomes just by doing just things. He states that this may seem a misunderstanding to one because it is a false analogy. That is because there is a difference between acts that create virtue and acts that are caused by virtue. In the same way, superiority in the arts is driven by the end product, not the process the product was created. The value of virtue is intrinsic. Therefore, the man doing a virtuous act must be fully conscious of what he is doing, he must consciously choose his action and choose it for its own sake, and the act must originate from moral disposition. Consequently, habitation – repeated activity of virtuous actions – will produce virtue. Thus, actions are virtuous when they are the actions a virtuous man would do. However, a man who performs a virtuous act is not naturally virtuous. He knows it is the right thing to do and does it for the right

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