ETHICS

Aristotle is making an important observation here: when it comes to pleasure, we tend to lose our ability to judge fairly or objectively. Pleasure has a way of clouding our judgment, making it harder for us to think clearly and act wisely. Essentially, he's warning us that our attraction to what feels good can easily lead us away from what is truly virtuous or balanced. Since pleasure often has such a strong pull on human behavior, it requires extra caution.

Aristotle is referencing a well-known story from Greek mythology here—Helen of Troy, whose beauty and allure were so captivating they were said to have caused the Trojan War. When he mentions "the elders of the people," he’s alluding to a specific idea: some of the older, wiser figures in this legend were wary of Helen's charm and its potentially destructive consequences. They likely saw her as a source of temptation or trouble, leading to rash and harmful actions.

What Aristotle is saying in this passage is that we should approach pleasure in the same cautious way. Just as the elders resisted being swept away by Helen’s dangerous allure, we, too, should maintain a critical, almost skeptical attitude toward pleasure. If we’re too easily seduced by pleasure, it clouds our judgment, leading us to make poor decisions or stray from the "mean"—the balanced and virtuous path of life. By being guarded against pleasure in this way, we're less likely to lose our sense of what’s right and reasonable.

Aristotle is essentially concluding his advice on how to achieve the "mean"—the balanced, virtuous path between extremes. He argues that avoiding the pull of excessive pleasure is key because we're naturally biased toward it, making it harder for us to judge it objectively. By actively resisting that bias and avoiding the lure of pleasure, we have a better chance of staying balanced and virtuous. In short, staying aware of our tendencies and being cautious about pleasures helps us find and act on the virtuous middle ground.