The Doctrine of the Mean in the Eudemian Ethics

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14195/1984-249X_20_10

Keywords:

Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics, Doctrine of the mean, Continuum, Moral correctness

Abstract

This paper aims to reconstruct the Aristotelian doctrine of the mean based on some passages from the Eudemian Ethics, books II and III. It is claimed that the mean in actions is prior to the mean in dispositions, and that the correct actions are the ones in a mean because they consist in an appropriate answer to the circumstances for the sake of the right human finality, eudaimonia. In relation to the Aristotelian thesis according to which there is a mean, excess and deficiency wherever there is a continuum, it is claimed that this continuum is formed by the emotions, which are the sensible basis of actions. Nonetheless, it is not true that emotions are prior to actions in terms of moral value.

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Author Biography

Inara Zanuzzi, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Professora do Departamento de Filosofia, na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, atuante na área de Filosofia Antiga, especialmente a da ética aristotélica.

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Published

2017-05-02

How to Cite

Zanuzzi, I. (2017). The Doctrine of the Mean in the Eudemian Ethics. Revista Archai, (20), 255. https://doi.org/10.14195/1984-249X_20_10

Issue

No. 20 (2017): Revista Archai nº20 (Maio, 2017)

Section

Dossier

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