Question

“Both fear and confidence and appetite and anger and pity and in general pleasure and pain may be felt too much and too little…but to feel them at the right times, with reference to the right objects, towards the right people, with the right motive, and in the right way, is what is both intermediate and best, and this is characteristic of virtue…Virtue is a kind of mean…it aims at what is intermediate.” -Aristotle

a) What does he mean by saying “Virtue is a kind of mean”?

b) Give an example of a virtuous state of character that is between vices of deficiency and excess.

Answer 1

Ans. A

Virtue as the mean between two extreme stages, being praised and being successful are both characteristics of Virtue. Therefore the Virtue is a kind of mean. Neither virtue nor vices are passions, because we are not called good or bad on the ground of our passions, but are so called on the ground of our virtues and vices, and because we are neither praised nor blamed for our passions.

Ans. B

The virtue is an excellent state of the person, the virtue and the moral character are secondary to action accordance with law. The development of moral character is an intellectual topic that has been discussed for many years. A mean between two vices, which depends on excess and that which depend on defect.

A person experience deficiency and excess can select on or both vices which include in between condition, so that we can identify a proper intellect personality in a person.