Moral Excellence And Obituation In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

In his work, Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle embarks on a philosophical inquiry into the nature of the good life for a human being. By living with the mean state and with moral virtue, the disposition to behave in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess, Aristotle explains how human beings can reach the end purpose of life to achieve eudaimonia, human flourishing. Aristotle’s fundamental claims surrounding moral excellence and habituation allow people to enact the necessary process of moderating thinking and feeling to become morally excellent persons. In order to reach human thriving, persons must habituate themselves to continually make good choices of the mean state, so that through acting virtuously, they …show more content…
In discussing habituation, Aristotle claims, “states arise out of like activities.” (2.1, 1103b21) Because individual characteristics develop from corresponding habituation, Aristotle argues that individual experiences are quite formative in the development of virtues. For this reason, individuals must be certain that their activities are of the right kind, for any variation in them will be reflected in their dispositions. Specifically, as behaving one way or another in particular circumstances can lead to habituation, it is crucial that humans act properly in all situations. Aristotle’s claim about activities remained true in my experiment. By continually practicing moderation when eating throughout my experiment, I became more temperate. Despite having many opportunities to violate my experimental parameters, continually acting with moderation when dining allowed me to approach the virtue of temperance. In particular, by acting with moderation, I avoided unhealthy choices such as muffins, breakfast potatoes, and waffles when selecting my breakfast, and became more habituated to the virtue of temperance in relation to my diet. Beyond just breakfast, in order to become more virtuous, I had to act moderately in all my experiences in the dining halls to ensure proper habituation. Thus, by acting moderately with my diet, I achieved a state of temperance in my experiment. It is important to consider that if I had been taught to eat more healthily and moderately as a young child, I would be more closely habituated to the virtue of temperance. It makes a great difference whether or not one is inculcated in certain habits from an early age as proper actions become more habituated if taught and practiced throughout an individual’s