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4 - Aristotelian Choice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2021

Paula Gottlieb
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison
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Summary

Chapter 4 is about choice (prohairesis), an Aristotelian innovation. This is the central chapter of the book, drawing together the threads of the previous chapters. Aristotle says that virtue of character is a disposition involving choice and he defines choice as desiderative thought or thoughtful desire. He is here emphasizing each side of choice, thought, and desire. I argue that choice can belong to good, bad, and akratic people, but my main aim is to show how thought and desire are interdependent in the case of the good person. To that end, I analyze the type of thought involved in the choice of the good person – deliberation – showing that it cannot be adequately explained without mentioning virtue and hence desire and feelings. Conversely, I show that the type of desire involved, which I argue takes up the motivation both of wish (which I argue is in the rational part of the soul) and the feelings, requires thought. I conclude with some examples of choice, showing how from one point of view virtue makes the goal right, and from another it makes what contributes to the goal right. That is because virtue of character and thoughtfulness are intertwined.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Aristotelian Choice
  • Paula Gottlieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Book: Aristotle on Thought and Feeling
  • Online publication: 08 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107323544.005
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  • Aristotelian Choice
  • Paula Gottlieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Book: Aristotle on Thought and Feeling
  • Online publication: 08 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107323544.005
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Aristotelian Choice
  • Paula Gottlieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Book: Aristotle on Thought and Feeling
  • Online publication: 08 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107323544.005
Available formats
×