Posted: September 8th, 2023

Aristotle’s View of Virtue and the Soul

In Nicomachean Ethics, Book I, Chapter 13, Aristotle introduces his conception of “virtue.” Explain the general relation between virtue and the soul (according to Aristotle). Next, explain Aristotle’s distinction between virtues of thought and virtues of character.

Aristotle’s View of Virtue and the Soul
In Book I of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle lays out his conception of virtue and its relation to the human soul. For Aristotle, virtue is an excellence or perfection of one’s soul. The soul, according to Aristotle, has both rational and irrational elements. The rational element allows for contemplation and rational thought, while the irrational element encompasses our appetites and passions.
Virtue, for Aristotle, is a mean or middle state between deficiencies and excesses of feelings, choices, and actions. This relates to the soul in that virtue perfects the soul’s irrational element by allowing one to experience feelings, choices, and actions in a moderate, rational way (Lutz, 2020). As Aristotle writes, “virtue causes the goal to appear attractive and actions to appear right” (NE, 1106b21). Through developing virtues like courage and temperance, one comes to view fears, desires, and pleasures in a balanced, rational manner aligned with reason. In this way, virtue perfects the soul.
Aristotle distinguishes between intellectual virtues, which perfect one’s rational element, and moral virtues, which perfect one’s character and irrational element. Intellectual virtues include skills like theoretical wisdom and practical wisdom, which allow one to reason and deliberate well (NE, 1103a3-5). Moral virtues govern feelings like fear, desire, and anger. They include courage, temperance, justice, generosity, and more. For Aristotle, developing moral virtues through habituation is key to living well and achieving eudaimonia, or human flourishing (NE, 1103a14-19).
In summary, for Aristotle virtue is excellence of the human soul achieved through rationally ordering one’s feelings, choices, actions, and thought. This relates to both our rational capacity for wisdom and contemplation, as well as our irrational appetites and passions which require moral virtues to be experienced moderately (Vasiliou, 2008). Cultivating virtue allows our soul to function well and attain its highest end.
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