Aristotle's Alleged Moral Determinism in the Nicoachean Ethics
Journal of Philosophical Research 33:19-32 (2008)
| Abstract | Did Aristotle believe that upbringing determines character, and character, in turn, determines action? Some scholars answer this question in the affirmative and thus read Aristotle as a determinist with little use for the idea that people are morally responsible for what they do. The present paper counters this interpretation by showing that a deterministic reading of Aristotle’s theory of action and character is indefensible in the face of the text. The author points to three main facts: (1)a passage in the Nicomachean Ethics shows conclusively that Aristotle did not regard upbringing as determining moral character; (2) the doctrine of character expounded in Nicomachean Ethics III does not entail that people can only act in conformity with their moral dispositions, and (3) Aristotle viewed alternatepossibilities as genuinely open to moral agents, not as available to them only in principle (i.e., if they had received a different upbringing or had had different beliefs and desires) | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,631 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesGianluca Di Muzio (2000). Aristotle on Improving One's Character. Phronesis 45 (3):205 - 219.
Gianluca di Muzio (2000). Aristotle on Improving One's Character. Phronesis 45 (3):205-219.
Susanne Bobzien (forthcoming). Choice and Moral Responsibility in Nicomachean Ethics Iii 1-5. In R. Polansky (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Nicomachean Ethics. Cambridge University Press.
Uri D. Leibowitz (2013). Particularism in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Journal of Moral Philosophy 10 (2):121-147.
Anna Marmodoro (2011). Moral Character Versus Situations: An Aristotelian Contribution to the Debate. Journal of Ancient Philosophy 5 (2).
Lubomira Radoilska (2007). Aristotle and the Moral Philosophy of Today (L’Actualité D’Aristote En Morale). Presses Universitaires de France.
Nicholas O. Pagan (forthcoming). Configuring the Moral Self: Aristotle and Dewey. Foundations of Science.
Amanda Cain (2005). Books and Becoming Good: Demonstrating Aristotle's Theory of Moral Development in the Act of Reading. Journal of Moral Education 34 (2):171-183.
Michael Pakaluk (2005). Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Karen M. Nielsen (2007). Dirtying Aristotle's Hands? Aristotle's Analysis of 'Mixed Acts' in the Nicomachean Ethics III, 1. Phronesis 52 (3):270-300.
Nancy Sherman (1989). The Fabric of Character: Aristotle's Theory of Virtue. Oxford University Press.
Alfred R. Mele (1981). Choice and Virtue in the Nicomachean Ethics. Journal of the History of Philosophy 19 (4):405-423.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2011-12-02Total downloads6 ( #145,407 of 548,974 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,511 of 548,974 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
