Book 2 / Chapter 5
Paragraph 1 - The Nature of Virtue
Explanation - Part By Part
"Next we must consider what virtue is. Since things that are found in the soul are of three kinds- passions, faculties, states of character, virtue must be one of these."
Aristotle is preparing to define what virtue is by categorizing the elements of the soul. He explains that everything in the soul can be grouped into three categories: passions (like emotions and desires), faculties (our natural ability to feel those emotions and desires), and states of character (how we handle or respond to these emotions and desires, either well or poorly). He then suggests that virtue must fit into one of these categories. This sets the foundation for analyzing virtue in more detail. Essentially, Aristotle is organizing things before pinpointing where "virtue" belongs.
"By passions I mean appetite, anger, fear, confidence, envy, joy, friendly feeling, hatred, longing, emulation, pity, and in general the feelings that are accompanied by pleasure or pain."
In this part, Aristotle is explaining what he means by "passions." He defines them as emotional experiences or feelings that are naturally tied to pleasure or pain. These include emotions like appetite (desire), anger, fear, confidence, envy, joy, friendship or affection, hatred, longing, competitiveness (emulation), and pity. Essentially, he's pointing to the broad spectrum of human emotions that shape how we react to the world and that tend to involve either some sense of pleasure (like joy or affection) or discomfort/pain (like fear or envy). These passions are the raw emotional responses we feel as humans, and Aristotle wants to categorize them clearly as he begins his exploration of what makes a person virtuous.
"By faculties the things in virtue of which we are said to be capable of feeling these, e.g. of becoming angry or being pained or feeling pity."
Here, Aristotle is talking about what he calls "faculties" in the human soul. Essentially, these are our natural abilities or capacities that allow us to experience certain emotions or feelings. For example, our capacity to feel anger, sadness, or pity—these are faculties. They are like tools or mechanisms built into us that enable us to have those emotional responses in the first place. It’s important to note that Aristotle is not yet saying whether it’s good or bad to feel these emotions; he is simply identifying that we can feel them because we possess the faculty for it.
"By states of character the things in virtue of which we stand well or badly with reference to the passions, e.g. with reference to anger we stand badly if we feel it violently or too weakly, and well if we feel it moderately; and similarly with reference to the other passions."
Here, Aristotle is explaining the concept of states of character in relation to our emotions, or what he calls passions. Essentially, he’s saying that the way we handle our emotions—whether we do so well or poorly—determines our character.
For example, with anger:
- If someone feels anger excessively and reacts violently, they’re not managing this emotion well, and this reflects badly on their character.
- On the flip side, if someone feels anger too weakly, perhaps in situations where anger would be appropriate (like witnessing injustice), this also reflects poorly because they lack the appropriate response.
- However, if someone feels anger moderately—responding in the right way, at the right time, and to the right degree—this is a reflection of good character.
Aristotle is arguing that a balanced approach to handling emotions is what creates a virtuous state of character. The same principle applies to other emotions like fear, joy, or pity. Virtue lies in managing these passions in a way that is neither excessive nor deficient—it’s about finding the right balance.