Book 2 / Chapter 7
Paragraph 3 - Anger: Excess, Deficiency, and the Mean
Explanation - Part By Part
"With regard to anger also there is an excess, a deficiency, and a mean."
Aristotle is explaining that even something like anger can be approached in a balanced way. It’s not simply about avoiding anger altogether or expressing it freely without control—there’s a right amount and a right way to feel and express anger. This balanced state is what he refers to as the "mean." It’s about finding the middle ground where anger is appropriate and justified, without letting it consume you or being completely indifferent to things that should provoke some emotional response.
"Although they can scarcely be said to have names, yet since we call the intermediate person good-tempered let us call the mean good temper;"
Aristotle points out that not all virtues and vices have widely recognized or well-established names. However, since people commonly describe someone who manages their anger appropriately as "good-tempered," he suggests that this term be used to describe the virtuous middle ground—the mean—when it comes to handling anger. This "good temper" refers to a balanced state where someone responds to situations with an appropriate amount of anger, avoiding extremes. It's about being reasonable and measured in emotional responses rather than either overreacting or being completely indifferent.
"of the persons at the extremes let the one who exceeds be called irascible, and his vice irascibility,"
Aristotle is saying that when it comes to the feeling of anger, there's a spectrum of behavior. On one extreme, there are people who get angry too easily or excessively, and he refers to such a person as irascible (prone to anger). The habit or flaw of being frequently and excessively angry is called irascibility, which is considered a vice—a moral failing or deficiency of character. In essence, these are the people who "fly off the handle" too quickly or burn with rage over things that don’t warrant such an extreme reaction.
"and the man who falls short an inirascible sort of person, and the deficiency inirascibility."
Here, Aristotle is discussing how people manage their anger. He identifies a "mean," an ideal balance, and two extremes—too much and too little anger. A person who "falls short" is someone who doesn't get angry even when anger would be appropriate or justified. Aristotle calls this kind of person "inirascible," and the deficiency itself is termed "inirascibility." In modern terms, this is someone who might lack the necessary emotional drive or passion to react strongly to things that are genuinely wrong, which can lead to passivity or indifference in situations where action or confrontation might be needed. Essentially, they underperform in expressing or acting on anger.