GUIDE TO THE PHILOSOPHY 1938 - 1947.pdf - Rare Books at ...

ARISTOTLE'S MORALS AND POLITICS toi
having done so, we are enjoined to keep it continually
in mind and to act accordingly. Moreover, the "just
enough" for one man may be quite different from the
"just enough" for another. Every man must, therefore!
find out his own "mean" for himself and, having found it,
stick to it. The doctrine, in short, is a kind of spiritual
valetudinarianism. We are to find out what is good for
us, and then only to act in accordance with the conclusions
of our findings.
The Doctrine of the Mean and Stereotyped Behaviour.
The attitude to life recommended by the doctrine of the
mean has also been criticized on the ground that it is apt
to become stereotyped, Aristotle explicitly defines the
disposition which expresses itself in actions that adhere
to the mean, the disposition, that is to say, of moral goodness,
as "a state of will or choice". On every moral issue
that presents itself, the estimate which tells us wherein
the mean in relation to that issue lies, reflects inevitably the
character from which it proceeds. It is, that is to say, the
out of
expression of a certain character state. Aristotle goes
his way to recommend that our estimates of the mean
should become as habitual, one might almost be justified
in saying as automatic, as possible. It is, in his view, all
to the good that, so far as the practical affairs of daily
life are concerned, we should have formed the habit of
regularly acting in accordance with the mean, without
having to give thought to the matter. The following
example taken from Professor Burnet's writings exactly
brings out Aristotle's meaning: "On a given occasion there
will be a temperature which is just right for my morning
bath. If the bath is hotter than this it will be too hot;
if it is colder it will be too cold. But as this just right
temperature varies with the condition of my body, it cannot
be ascertained by simply using a thermometer. If I
am in good general health I shall, however, know by the
feel of the water when the temperature is right. So if I
am in good moral health I shall know, without appealing