A Preponderance of Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean
The standard of man is a topic of debate that is unanswerable but over the millennium, scholars and philosophers have offered their own theses to try and explain both our purpose and our ability to fulfill it. Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean is on such idea, meant to justify man’s actions and explain how each is in line with the original purpose of man. The main standard it seems is the living of a life of virtue, explained as the nature of “a thing causes that thing both to be itself in good condition and to perform its function well.” The first example proposed by Aristotle to illustrate a virtuous fulfillment of life is the eye, which is virtuous in allowing us to see and thus performing its specific purpose well.
Man’s standard of virtue, somewhat unfortunately, is quite a bit more involved and requires the fulfillment of many more than a single and simple task. But the principles that matter are still those most basic in even today’s modern view of virtue; courage, reserve, moderation, etc. Much like the eye, it is not perfection that fulfills our task but rather simply giving it ones all. As a mother, this would be the response to most, but unlike strict statistics, it is not necessarily the end result that makes the achievement. For example, if the eye is damaged and unable to produce excellent sight it has not failed in its purpose because it adapts its purpose to a new standard. Likewise, if a man was to give it his all in an academic medium, it is not necessarily the actual product that determines fulfillment of virtue but rather how that product relates to potential. This method of judgment in Aristotle’s terminology is “not the absolute but the relative mean.”A Preponderance of Ari ...