Tacitus called it, in fact, the most difficult lesson of wisdom, while Horace linked moderation to the golden mean and balance, all good things in his view, but difficult to achieve in practice. Lessons from Aristotle All things in moderation Hughes, Melina MSN, RN, CCRN; Fitzsimons, Virginia EdD, RNC, FAAN Author Information Nursing: April 2016 - Volume 46 - Issue 4 - p 50-53 doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000481422.11588.7e Buy Copyright 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. Aristotle defined virtue as the desirable middle ground between two extremes. Let's take the most common type of moderation, which is about of abstaining from eating a large amounts of food we like very much. It's not in Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable or the Partridge Dictionary of Catch Phrases: American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day. If you dont make your own tradeoffs, they will be made for you by nature, by chance, or by other people. Indeed, a similar concept exists even in the Rabbinic literature, Tosefta and the Yerushalmi. Three centuries ago, the French political philosopher Montesquieu claimed that human beings accommodate themselves better to the middle than to the extremes. your express consent. All done! The second level applies to the manner in which one behaves, not the set of things one behaves towards. Now - Ive seen that version, but when I saw it, it was attributed to the editor-in-chief of a wine-tasting magazine (Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, and in no less than four places.) Book III, Chap. What do moderates seek to achieve in society, and how do they differ from more radical or extremist minds? **, thats the new KJV Because you cannot know my preferences, hopes, history, and opportunities, and because I cannot know yours, neither of us is well equipped to make sound decisions for the other. Your message has been successfully sent to your colleague. If I produce a $200 computer that has all of the features and reliability of a model that costs $2,000, I prosper. . If classical authors agreed on the importance of moderation, they also insisted that it is not an easy virtue. Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a scholar in disciplines such as ethics, metaphysics, biology and botany, among others. Aristotle's 12 virtues are a great checklist to understand the different morals, values, and virtues that you could cultivate or restrain in your life. We can decide what the highest good is by determining what contains the ends of everything else. Tiruvalluvar (2nd century BC and the 8th century AD; date disputed) in his Tirukkural of the Sangam period of Tamizhagam writes of the middle state which is to preserve equity. Moral virtue is acquired by a combination of knowledge, habituation, and self-discipline. Can we do something about that to save them from extinction? In the end, society winds up with immoderately large amounts of the undesirable behavior protected by government and too little of the desirable behaviors necessary for a prosperous, free, and civil society. Message and data rates may apply. If you grasp unthinkingly at every pleasurable opportunity that passes your way, you will not be making choices. "[3], In education, Socrates asks us to consider the effect of either an exclusive devotion to gymnastics or an exclusive devotion to music. JavaScript is disabled. Though written more than 2,000 years ago, it offers the modern reader many valuable insights into human needs and conduct. Of all things, Im fairly certain that its NOT biblical. Gluttons and fanatics self-destruct by refusing to make the tradeoffs necessary to lead a good life. In all things, Aristotle generally preached moderation, finding the mean between extremes. But the words moderate, moderation and moderately only appear sparingly in the scriptures and the phrase "moderation in . All rights reserved. Think of mental disorders as the minds sticky tendencies, Philosophy cannot resolve the question How should we live?, We need highly formal rituals in order to make life more democratic. What are the principles underlying moderation? The official website of the Baha'i Faith is: Sign up for our newsletter and get all our latest content. ), 'We should pursue and practice moderation.' Before starting in-depth elaboration about this saying, we should have a glimpse into the brief background of Aristotle. In the Politics, Aristotle criticizes the Spartan Polity by critiquing the disproportionate elements of the constitution; e.g., they trained the men and not the women, and they trained for war but not peace. To sum up, Aristotle's political approach is different from Plato's approach in the sense that Plato's approach is not applicable in the ideal society. Aristotle opens the first book of the Nicomachean Ethics by positing some one supreme good as the aim of human actions, investigations, and crafts (1094a). Aristotle was Plato's best student. For not heeding the middle course, he fell into the sea and drowned. MODERATION IN ALL THINGS - "Thinkers of ancient Greece held the notion of moderation in high esteem. For measure and proportion manifest themselves in all areas of beauty and virtue.Protarchus: Undeniably.Socrates: But we said that truth is also inclined along with them in our mixture?Protarchus: Indeed.Socrates: Well, then, if we cannot capture the good in one form, we will have to take hold of it in a conjunction of three: beauty, proportion and truth. When we are on a plane, we need to apply our own oxygen mask first, before assisting others. The right way is the mean in each group of dispositions common to humanity; namely, that disposition which is equally distant from the two extremes in its class, not being nearer to the one than to the other. Moderation sees itself as beautiful, Friedrich Nietzsche once quipped, only because it is unaware that in the eye of the immoderate it appears black and sober, and consequently ugly-looking. To others more politically inclined, moderation is unsatisfactory because it is seen as a form of appeasement that does not offer a suitable platform for mobilisation and reform. Three TOPIC : Pre-Socratic Western Philosophy Origin : Ancient Greece Period : about 6th . In Aristotles philosophy, virtue is a state of being, a state apt to exercise deliberate choice, being in the relative mean, determined by reason, and as the person of practical wisdom would determine. Aristotle argued that deficiency or excess destroys virtue. Theyre unavoidable. Featured in: Benjamin Franklin Quotes. Yitzhak Arama finds references even in the Bible. )", "Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible", On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration, Constitution of the Athenians (Aristotle), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_mean_(philosophy)&oldid=1115916731, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles that may contain original research from December 2021, All articles that may contain original research, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2013, Articles needing additional references from May 2014, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "In many things the middle have the best / Be mine a middle station. Log in. The essential thought is found in the work of the Greek poet Hesiod ( c. 700 bc), 'observe due measure; moderation is best in all things', and of the Roman comic dramatist Plautus ( c. 250-184 bc), 'moderation in all things is the best policy.' From: moderation in all things in The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable And even moderation in moderation. Please try again soon. As early as the nineth century B.C., the historian Hesiod wrote in 'Works and Days,' 'Observe due measure, moderation is best in all things.' As early as the nineth century B.C., the historian Hesiod wrote in 'Works and Days,' 'Observe due measure, moderation is best in all things.' ~ Aristotle. The essential thought is found in the work of the Greek poet Hesiod (c.700 bc), observe due measure; moderation is best in all things, and of the Roman comic dramatist Plautus (c. 250184 bc), moderation in all things is the best policy., From: In the footsteps of the ancients who equated moderation with practical wisdom, Montesquieu argued in The Spirit of the Laws (1748) that moderation is the supreme virtue of the legislator while also insisting that moderation is much more than the proverbial golden mean between the extremes. However, for philosophers like Aristotle, the virtue of moderation was a cornerstone for balanced and happy living. Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ", This page was last edited on 13 October 2022, at 21:42. To achieve all this, one needs both prudence and moderation, yet there is no algorithm for them; moderation can be learned and gained only through experience and practice. In the Eudemian Ethics, Aristotle writes on the virtues. Ethics X 8) In intellectual activity, human beings most nearly approach divine blessedness, while realizing all of the genuine human virtues as well. Bahaullah, the prophet and founder of the Bahai Faith, wrote: The word of God which the Supreme Pen hath recorded on the ninth leaf of the Most Exalted Paradise is this: In all matters moderation is desirable. . (2) Be moderate in everything, including moderation. Aristotle uses the word hexis to denote moral virtue. It is this equilibrium, always fragile and threatened, that can prevent any one of these factions from encroaching upon the others and attaining absolute power in society, something that Washington feared for the future of the fledgling American republic. But the concept of moderation as a means to a virtuous life is believed to have been inspired by the Seven Sages (c650-c550 B.C. One of his best known ideas was his conception of "The Golden Mean" "avoid extremes," the counsel of moderation in all things. 2. Firstly, moderation in all things affords us the time and energy to sample more of what life and the world have to offer. moderation in all things Some contemporary western philosophers believe that everything relates to our tastesbut if we use taste as our only criteria, it can lead to excess. Photo courtesy Wikimedia. Eco-Caskets: The Spiritual How - and Why - of Green Burials, Dr. Anthony Lee and the Excavation of Buried Racial Narratives. Rather, he counsels personal responsibility and rationality in pursuing your sentiments, pleasures, and passions. In Aristotles philosophy, virtue is a state of being, a state apt to exercise deliberate choice, being in the relative mean, determined by reason, and as the person of practical wisdom would determine. Aristotle argued that deficiency or excess destroys virtue. The Lord is at hand., *Originally posted by CrazyLittle * One among several famous saying of Aristotle introduced that means. To answer this question, we should take a new look at moderation, which Edmund Burke regarded as a difficult virtue, proper only to noble and courageous minds. Make whatever choices you wish, constrained only by your respect for the rights of others to make whatever choices they wish. Learn more. Please, enable JavaScript and reload the page to enjoy our modern features. Main Points of Aristotle's Ethical Philosophy, Subjects Covered in The Nicomachean Ethics. From Aristotles perspective, and from a Bahai perspective, we should always seek moderation as a path to a virtuous life. Obviously, as human individuals, our circumstances and our tastes differ. Here are a few more details on the author. What did the ancients think about all this? Knowledge, like all things, is best in moderation," intoned the Will. But one of the beauties of a society governed by the impartial rules of private property rights rather than by government dictates is that the consequencesgood and badthat fall on each decision-maker correspond closely to the consequences that these decisions have on others. Do you have a source for that credit? The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle's most important study of personal morality and the ends of human life, has for many centuries been a widely-read and influential book. Zip. How can they best reach you? Here are two versions: (1) All things in moderation, including moderation. You must log in or register to reply here. Moral virtue is a relative mean between extremes of excess and deficiency, and in general the moral life is one of moderation in all things except virtue. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle (1967). If, in contrast, I squander my energy and time pursuing nothing other than my own immediate gratifications, I personally pay the price. Its also true that some of us persistently react childishly rather than choose wisely. To successfully fight against them, it is high time that we rediscover a virtue moderation in which, as David Hume put it so well in the 1750s, we are most likely to meet with truth and certainty. Not the least the Quran emphasises that the Muslim community ( Umma) is a middle nation / a 'just community' / an Umma justly balanced / a moderate nation / a midmost nation (ummatan wasaTan) in verse 2-143: a middle between extremism and sloppiness. A way of living in the mean is the way of Zhongyong. Only a few decades later, George Washington begged to differ. Proverbial saying, mid 19th century; a more recent formulation of the idea contained in there is measure in all things. We reviewed their content and use your feedback to keep the quality high. For that, he or she must have a vision of the final destination and never lose sight of it, while paying due attention to every step, knowing that each miscalculation can be fatal. Man has personal moral responsibility for his actions. (The extremes he's concerned . Aristotle I never smoke to excess - that is, I smoke in moderation, only one cigar at a time. However, some scholars, such as Albert Barnes, hold a slightly different interpretation of Ecclesiastes 7:16-17.[8]. Donate to the National Bank of Ukraine's account for humanitarian assistance to refugees through our donation button! Crazylittle * one among several famous saying of Aristotle introduced that moderation in all things aristotle ancient Greece the. Log in or register to reply here more than 2,000 years ago, offers. 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