“A truly good and happy person actually values life more than others, so losing it is even more painful for them. But they still choose to fight for what is right, even if it costs them everything.
Interestingly, the best soldiers aren’t always the bravest. Some people risk their lives because they have nothing to lose. A truly brave person understands the value of life but still chooses to act with honor.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 57
“True courage is about thinking wisely and acting for a good cause, not just reacting with emotion.
True courage means facing danger even when the odds are against you, not just when you expect to win.
True courage is knowing the danger but facing it anyway.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 55-57
“True courage comes from choice, not fear.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 55
“Who Deserves Blame?
We don’t blame people for things they can’t control, like being born blind. But if someone ruins their health through laziness, we hold them responsible.
The same rule applies to character. If someone is born into a bad situation, they aren’t to blame. But if they keep making bad choices and refuse to change, they are responsible for who they become.
Some might say, ‘People don’t choose what looks good to them.’ But a person who always does the wrong thing has trained themselves to want the wrong things. A good person learns to see what is truly good.
Since we can choose to be good, we can also choose to be bad. Both are in our power.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 53
“Our habits shape who we are. Just like an athlete gets stronger by training, a person who keeps making bad choices becomes a bad person. If they refuse to admit this, they’re just making excuses.
Can People Change Once They Have Bad Habits?
A person who keeps choosing to lie or be selfish can’t say they don’t want to be that way—they’re making that choice every day.
But once a bad habit is formed, it’s much harder to change—just like ignoring a doctor’s advice can lead to an illness that’s difficult to cure.
Think of it like dropping a rock. Before you drop it, you have the power to hold on. But once you let go, you can’t stop it from falling.
In the same way, we can choose our actions in the beginning, but if we keep making bad choices, it gets harder to turn back.
This means being a good or bad person is up to us—our choices shape who we become.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 52-53
“Pleasure is tricky—it can make something feel right even when it’s actually harmful. That’s why virtue requires wisdom and discipline, not just instinct.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 43
“A virtuous person knows when to feel emotions, how much to feel, and how to act on them in the right way.
The same goes for actions:
• Generosity: Too much, and you give everything away. Too little, and you’re selfish. The right balance is giving wisely.
• Courage: Too much, and you’re reckless. Too little, and you’re a coward. The right balance is bravery with wisdom.
• Self-control: Too much pleasure-seeking makes you indulgent. Avoiding all pleasure makes you lifeless. The right balance is enjoying life responsibly.
Some Things Are Always Wrong
But, not everything has a middle ground. Actions like stealing, lying, and cruelty are always wrong. You can’t say, ‘I only stole a little, so it was virtuous.’ Some things are simply bad, just as courage and honesty are always good.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics-For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 41-42
“Just like a strong eye sees well or a well-trained horse runs smoothly, a virtuous person makes good choices and lives wisely.
But how do we know what ‘good’ looks like? In everything, there’s a too much, a too little, and a just right. We call this the mean—the middle ground between extremes.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics-For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 41
Tête-à-Tête
“Virtue isn't just a feeling or an ability. It is a state of character. We develop it over time through practice.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics-For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 40
“Virtue works the same way. Just doing a kind or fair action once doesn’t make you a kind or fair person. To truly have virtue, three things must happen:
1 You must understand what you are doing.
2 You must choose to do it because it is the right thing to do.
3 You must do it regularly so that it becomes part of who you are.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics-For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg.39
“The Key to Being Good
• Virtue is about pleasure and pain—we need to train ourselves to enjoy good actions and avoid bad ones.
• Virtue is developed by practice—what we do repeatedly determines our character.
• Virtue is about balance—too much or too little of anything can lead to bad character.
Happiness comes from living a good life. To be virtuous, you need effort, discipline, and good habits.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics-For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 38
“People often do bad things because they enjoy them and avoid doing good things because they seem difficult. This is why training from a young age is important—we need to learn to enjoy good actions and avoid harmful ones.
Punishments also work this way. We correct people by making them feel pain when they do something wrong. Pain and pleasure influence our behavior.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 38
God Bless America
AND
Happy Ukrainian Independence Day
“Virtue isn’t about doing too much or too little—it’s about finding the right balance.
Virtue, then, is about finding the middle ground between two extremes.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 36-37
“We Learn by Doing
Just like we learn to play an instrument by practicing, we become virtuous by doing good actions.
• People become brave by acting bravely.
• People become just by treating others fairly.
• People become self-controlled by resisting temptations.
This is why laws and education matter. Good laws help people build good habits. Societies with strong moral values create good citizens.
But just as practice makes a good musician, bad practice makes a bad musician. If someone constantly cheats, lies, or acts selfishly, they will form bad habits and become a bad person. So, what we do every day shapes who we are.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 36-37
“How Do We Become Virtuous?
There are two kinds of virtue:
1 Intellectual virtue – Comes from learning and experience. It takes time and teaching to develop.
2 Moral virtue – Comes from practice and habit. It is developed by doing good actions over and over again.
The word "ethics" comes from the Greek word "ethos," which means habit. This tells us that moral virtue isn’t something we are born with—it’s something we develop by practicing good habits.”
-The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 35-36
“The Two Types of Virtue
Since the soul has two parts, virtue is also divided into two types:
1 Intellectual virtues - These involve how we think, reason, and understand. Examples:
◦ Wisdom (knowing deep truths)
◦ Understanding (grasping ideas clearly)
◦ Practical wisdom (making good decisions in life)
2 Moral virtues – These involve actions and habits. Examples:
◦ Generosity (giving freely and fairly)
◦ Self-control (resisting bad desires)
◦ Courage (facing fears wisely)”
-The Nichomachean Ethics- For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg.33
