Virtue as a Mean
Q&A Webcast Episode: 1 May 2011, Question 6
In this segment of the Q&A Webcast of 1 May 2011, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on virtue as a mean.
Is Aristotle's concept of virtue as a mean between extremes of vices valid? In philosophy class my professor attributed the idea of the "Golden Mean" to Aristotle. I understand the concept, and I agree with the principle to some extent, but it still does not sit right with me somehow. (Perhaps the problem is the idea of moderation for moderation's sake.) Is this idea valid as is, or is the essence right with a sloppy framework?
My Answer, In Brief: Aristotle's doctrine of virtue as a mean is an attempt to make ethics objective. The theory is wrong, but not as wrong as the common doctrine of "moderation for moderation's sake."
Tags: Aristotle, Ethics, Philosophy
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- Download: MP3 Segment
- Duration: 11:26
Relevant Links
- Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle
- Commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics by Thomas Aquinas
- Aristotle as Ethicist by Greg Salmieri
- Aristotle's Metaphysics and Aristotle and the Renaissance by Robert Mayhew
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Every Sunday morning, philosopher Dr. Diana Hsieh answers four meaty questions applying rational principles to the challenges of real life in her live hour-long internet radio show, Philosophy in Action Advice Radio. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers co-hosts the show. The audience can ask follow-up questions and make comments in the text-based chat.
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Dr. Diana Hsieh is a philosopher specializing in practical ethics. She received her Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. Her dissertation argued that Thomas Nagel's "problem of moral luck" can be resolved by an Aristotelian theory of moral responsibility. She began podcasting in 2009, then webcasting in 2010.
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