Aristotle has an interesting idea
about a “Golden Mean.” This mean is what Aristotle claims to be the point where
virtues are shown. For example to say someone is courageous is to say that they
neither act too reckless nor too cowardly. I agree with this idea because
clearly we know when some action seems too cowardly or too reckless. This also
means that we can become virtuous by finding this “Golden Mean” in our actions
and decisions.
Let’s say a fight breaks out in the
mall and you are among a group of bystanders that can see the fight starting.
If you were to walk away then it would be a cowardly choice, but also rushing
in to separate the fighters might be seen as too reckless for shoving yourself
into harms way. Now the “Golden Mean” here can be many different things. As
some people pointed out in class it may depend on the situation or sometimes
the factor of the diffusion of responsibility. Now what we learned from class
applies here in that the “Golden Mean” is relative to us. This mean is not the
same for everyone and is simply the appropriate way of acting given our
individual nature and circumstance.
I totally agree with this and even
in class gave evidence to that claim. Several times there were questions asked
about defining the situation at hand and that would effect the decision we
made. Also I agree with the idea that
virtues are habits. It makes sense to say that we have to become brave and
aren’t just born brave. How can we be sure we are brave if we have never had a
true test of our bravery? The only way to know for sure is by experiencing the
action of being brave. We must become
virtuous by forming habits that show our virtues.
I agree with everything you stated. The Golden Mean is all depended on the person and not a universal principle. I also agree that virtues are habits. We are not born to be brave, but become brave. I believe that people are not brave until it is necessary for them to be brave. And this shows if that someone is a hero or just a normal person. One does not know what he will do until he is put in the situation himself. I agree that you do not know until you are put in the situation. It is only apparent that we will all react differently from others in different scenarios. And how each individual reacts will show us who is brave and who is average.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement as well. The "Golden Mean" is tough to judge because I believe people's perception on what is too excessive or too deficient varies. It does indeed depend on the situation at hand. For instance, it was brought up in the symposium, what is the "Golden Mean" in telling a lie? I thought "Aristotle" on Friday did a good job answering by saying there is an excessive way to be honest by being brutally blunt and then too deficient would be to lie; however, I still questioned if this is what Aristotle meant when coming up with the concept.
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