Why Emphasize Steadfastness -- Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
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October 5 - We are still reading chapter 7 of NE VII, which compares and contrast self-control with steadfastness. Self-control (whether having or lacking) and steadfastness (whether holding or losing) have to do with pleasure and pain--as are all character virtues and vices, but especially and respectively, being moderate and being gluttonous-and-lecherous.
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For example, when a person has acknowledged firmly that he should no longer smoke/vape/drink (or whatever bad habit) but who in that moment of reality days later does the very thing affirmed to be bad, then that is the moment Aristotle calls that person as having a weakness of will--or lacking self-control.
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If that is a lack of self-control, under what scenario should we identify someone as being soft-pampered {malakia}? And under what scenario is someone to be considered as being endurant-steadfast {karteria}? Let's follow Aristotle's train of thought.
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We will read multiple translations starting at 1150a16.
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My summary of chapter 6 on lacking self-control with respect to emotion can be found here to help you catch up to us. https://mega.nz/file/OzYXXCZI#K6p6FHf2ohSrZ5NrMrr-H90w_TLYFng-kYpO4KmcHok Bring your own questions about the text if you are interested in joining this Sunday's meeting.
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We are live-reading and discussing Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, book VII, which is about troubleshooting the virtues of character. We use mainly the English translation by Adam Beresford (Penguin Classics, 2020).
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The prerequisite to this book is our answering for ourselves these questions from the prior books, to which we will briefly review:
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1. What is a virtue of character {ēthikē aretē}?
2. How does one come to acquire it? (E.g. [Aristotle’s], ambition, bravery, gentlemanliness, generosity, candor, …)
3. From a first-person perspective in being virtuous, how does one feel and what does one see (differently, discursively) in a given situation of everyday living?
4. From a third-person perspective, how is the virtuous person (of a specific virtue) to be characterized?
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The project's cloud drive is here, at which you'll find the reading texts, notes, and slideshows.