Aristotle thought that virtues (aretē) are cultivated character traits that enable humans to achieve eudaimonia (human flourishing or a well-lived life). [1, 2]

Key Ideas on Virtue

Eudaimonia as the Goal: Every living thing has a natural purpose or telos, and for humans, it is to live well by using reason and living virtuously. [1, 2]
Habituation and Practice: Virtue is not innate or given at birth; it is acquired through consistent practice and habituation from youth, much like learning an instrument or a craft. [1, 2]
Hexis (Active State of Character): Virtue is not a passive habit or a mindless routine. Aristotle used the term hexis to describe a stable equilibrium of the soul where a person chooses the right action knowingly, for its own sake, and from a firm disposition. [1, 2]
The Golden Mean: Moral virtue is a balanced midpoint (mesotes) sitting between two vices—one of excess and one of deficiency:
• Courage: The mean between cowardice (deficiency) and rashness/foolhardiness (excess).
• Generosity: The mean between stinginess (deficiency) and extravagance/wastefulness (excess).
• Temperance: The mean between insensibility (deficiency) and self-indulgence (excess). [1, 2, 3]
Intellectual vs. Moral Virtues: Aristotle divided virtues into two main categories:
• Moral Virtues (character traits like courage and temperance), which are shaped by habit.
• Intellectual Virtues (like practical wisdom or phronesis, and theoretical wisdom or sophia), which are developed through instruction, experience, and time. [1, 2, 3]
Practical Wisdom (Phronesis): Knowing what the right action is in a specific, shifting context requires practical wisdom—the ability to assess a situation and hit the golden mean properly. [1, 2]

Would you like to explore a specific virtue (like courage or friendship) or dive deeper into how Aristotle defines eudaimonia?

In his foundational work, the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle outlines eleven moral virtues (alongside justice and pride). Each moral virtue represents a Golden Mean—the exact sweet spot between a vice of deficiency (too little) and a vice of excess (too many). [1, 2, 3, 4]

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1. Virtues of Fear and Confidence

• Courage (Bravery)
  • Deficiency: Cowardice (overwhelmed by fear).
  • Excess: Rashness / Foolhardiness (recklessly facing danger without appropriate fear).
  • Aristotle's View: A courageous person feels fear but faces it appropriately for a noble cause. [1, 2, 3, 4]

2. Virtues of Pleasure and Pain

• Temperance (Moderation)
  • Deficiency: Insensibility (an inability to enjoy natural physical pleasures like food or sex).
  • Excess: Licentiousness / Self-indulgence (being enslaved to bodily appetites).
  • Aristotle's View: On online forums like Reddit, users note that opinions can be mixed regarding how Aristotle viewed the lower end of this spectrum; however, he generally taught that true temperance requires mastering your desires rather than living in forced asceticism. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

3. Virtues of Wealth and Money

Aristotle splits financial virtues into everyday spending and massive, community-level philanthropy. [1, 2]

• Liberality (Generosity)
  • Deficiency: Illiberality / Stinginess (holding onto money too tightly).
  • Excess: Prodigality / Extravagance (spending wildly and giving beyond one's means).
  • Aristotle's View: Generosity is about giving the right amount, to the right people, at the right time. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Magnificence (Large-Scale Giving)
  • Deficiency: Pettiness / Meanness (skimping on massive public projects or projects of scale).
  • Excess: Vulgarity / Tastelessness (flashy, ostentatious spending just to show off wealth).
  • Aristotle's View: This virtue is reserved for the wealthy who finance grand public assets (like temples or warships) beautifully and appropriately. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

4. Virtues of Honour and Self-Worth

Like wealth, Aristotle views honor through minor and major lenses. [1]

• Magnanimity (Greatness of Soul / Proper Pride)
  • Deficiency: Pusillanimity / Undue Humility (underestimating oneself; refusing to accept great honours you deserve).
  • Excess: Vanity (believing you deserve great honours when you do not).
  • Aristotle's View: Regarded by Aristotle as the "crown of the virtues." It belongs to someone who is genuinely worthy of great things and knows it. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
• Proper Ambition (Minor Pride)
  • Deficiency: Unambitiousness (a total lack of drive to achieve small-scale honours).
  • Excess: Empty Vanity / Blind Ambition (obsessing over titles and recognition for their own sake). [1, 2]

5. Virtues of Social Life and Communication

• Patience (Good Temper)
  • Deficiency: Lack of Spirit / Submissiveness (failing to get angry even when treated unjustly).
  • Excess: Irascibility / Ill-Temper (flying into a rage too easily or holding long grudges).
  • Aristotle's View: A good-tempered person gets angry only at the right things, with the right people, and for the right amount of time. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Truthfulness (Honesty / Sincerity)
  • Deficiency: Understatement / Self-Deprecation (mock-modesty; downplaying your own achievements).
  • Excess: Boastfulness (exaggerating your wealth, status, or skills). [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Wittiness (Humour)
  • Deficiency: Boorishness (being stiff, humorless, or overly sensitive to jokes).
  • Excess: Buffoonery (carrying jokes too far; mocking people cruelly just for a laugh). [1, 2, 3]
• Friendliness (Sociability)
  • Deficiency: Cantankerousness / Sulkiness (being argumentative, distant, or cold).
  • Excess: Obsequiousness / Flattery (eagerly agreeing with everyone just to be liked). [1, 2, 3, 4]

6. Minor Trait of Feeling

• Modesty (Shame)
  • Deficiency: Shamelessness (doing bad things without feeling remorse or social awareness).
  • Excess: Shyness / Bashfulness (being paralyzed by shame over things that aren't bad).
  • Aristotle's View: Aristotle didn't consider shame a true virtue because it is a feeling rather than a stable disposition, but he noted it is an essential tool for training youth. [1, 2, 3, 4]

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The Overarching Virtues: Justice and Wisdom

Aristotle treats Justice and Intellectual Wisdom as separate categories that bind all the moral virtues together: [1, 2]

• Justice: The ultimate social virtue. It means treating people fairly and giving everyone their legal and moral due. It avoids the vices of taking too much for yourself (greed) or taking too little (failing to claim your rights). [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Practical Wisdom (Phronesis): This is an intellectual virtue. Without it, you cannot possess any of the moral virtues listed above. Phronesis is the mental calculator that allows a person to look at a chaotic real-world situation and decide exactly where the "Golden Mean" sits. [1, 2, 3]

Would you like to examine how Aristotle says we can cultivate these virtues in daily life, or would you like to explore his unique views on Friendship?