PHL 333 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Intellectual Virtue, Nicomachean Ethics, Habituation
8 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Aristotle argues that virtue is of two types: one is concerned with thinking(intellectual) and the other with character(moral) Excellence of thinking or intellectual virtue is a result of teaching and it needs experience and time; it owes its birth and growth to teaching. Excellence of character or moral virtue is a consequence of habit(ethos) Moral virtues come to us neither by nature not contrary to nature but we need to take them on and develop by means of habituation. Nothing that exists by nature can form a habit contrary to its nature. Things that are in nature cannot be habituated to behave otherwise: fire cannot be habituated to move downward. Things that come by nature move from potentiality to activity; we are provided with potencies and then we perform activity. However, we get virtues by exercising them. We need teacher for by nature we are required to be taught.
