An ethical issue that is debated in our society is the concern of driving while intoxicated. Although this was naturally not the case during Aristotle's time, many of his ethical beliefs can be applied to refute this dilemma. I will prove the standing issue to be unethical through Aristotle's discussion of virtue and his concept of voluntary/involuntary actions in the Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle believed that of the virtues learned in our youth, each has a respective excess and deficiency. The virtue is the mean (or midpoint) of the excess and deficiency. The mean can be thought of as "just right", and the extremities can be labeled as "vices". The mean should not be thought of as the geometric middle of the two vices- it varies between the vices, depending on the person. Aristotle believed that the mean and the vices are within our control and of the two extremes (vices) we should choose the less erroneous. It is not always easy to choose the less erroneous of the two. For......
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Approximate Word Count: 1145
Approximate Pages: 5 (260 words per double-spaced page) |