PHIL 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Nicomachean Ethics, Know Thyself
10 Feb 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
For aristotle, there are two kinds of virtues: Intellectual virtues (which are a product of instruction), and. Moral virtues, which are produced through habit (ethos). This chapter is largely a proof to establish that moral virtues are produced through habit and are not natural properties. First, aristotle argues that no natural property can be altered by habit. (put aside the aristotelian science for a moment). Thus, because it is the nature of a stone to fall, no matter how many times you throw it in the air you cannot train it not to fall, just fire cannot be trained to move downward. Then aristotle distinguishes between the potential and the actual. (note that this distinction is not reproduced in the excerpt of the good life) Potential is the capacity to do something, but it is not yet realized. Thus a state [of character] arises from [the repetition of] similar activities (36), which makes early training important.
