Aristotle's Vice

FAIN: FT-299187-24

Audrey Anton
Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY 42101-1000)

Research and revising two book chapters on Aristotle’s (384-322 BCE) ethical theory of virtues and vices.

Aristotle’s Vice is the first book-length treatment of vicious character. In recent decades, Aristotle’s ethical theory has enjoyed a resurgence in philosophy, classical studies, and contemporary education theory. However, no discipline can truly benefit from Aristotelian virtue ethics absent a complete understanding of vice, for Aristotle states clearly that individual moral virtues are mean states between two opposing vices. Since virtues are defined in reference to vices, any accurate understanding of the one requires equal perspicacity with the other. I argue that Aristotle does have a coherent theory of vice, which I present holistically, referencing passages across multiple treatises. For Aristotle, vice is constituted by general moral ignorance voluntarily acquired over time. The vicious are responsible for their moral ignorance because they could have easily avoided vice. Furthermore, while the vicious lack awareness of their moral failing, they are miserable because of it.