Book 3 / Chapter 1
Paragraph 1 - The Distinction Between Voluntary and Involuntary Actions
Explanation - Part By Part
"Since virtue is concerned with passions and actions, and on voluntary passions and actions praise and blame are bestowed, on those that are involuntary pardon, and sometimes also pity,"
Aristotle is saying that virtue (moral excellence) is tied to our emotions (passions) and what we do (actions). When people do things or feel things voluntarily—meaning they willingly choose to—they can be praised or blamed for it, depending on whether their choices are good or bad. On the other hand, when their actions or feelings are involuntary—meaning they didn't have control over them—they don't deserve praise or blame. Instead, they might be forgiven (pardoned) for any wrongdoing, and in some cases, others might feel pity for them. Essentially, Aristotle is drawing a distinction based on responsibility: people are only held accountable for what they willingly and knowingly do.
"to distinguish the voluntary and the involuntary is presumably necessary for those who are studying the nature of virtue, and useful also for legislators with a view to the assigning both of honours and of punishments."
Aristotle is emphasizing the importance of understanding the difference between voluntary and involuntary actions. If we're trying to figure out what it means to live a virtuous life or act virtuously, we need to know whether someone willingly chose their actions (voluntary) or was forced into them or acted out of ignorance (involuntary). Why does this matter? Because in determining what behavior deserves praise, blame, reward, or punishment—things critical for both moral reasoning and making laws—this distinction becomes essential. Legislators, for instance, need this understanding to ensure that people are held accountable for the choices they intentionally make, not for things beyond their control.
"Those things, then, are thought-involuntary, which take place under compulsion or owing to ignorance; and that is compulsory of which the moving principle is outside,"
Aristotle is saying that some actions or emotions are considered involuntary when they happen either because someone is forced (compulsion) or because the person doesn't have all the information (ignorance). For something to be compulsory, it must originate completely from an external force or situation—not from the person themselves. In other words, the person isn't truly responsible because they didn't willingly choose or contribute to what happened.
"being a principle in which nothing is contributed by the person who is acting or is feeling the passion, e.g. if he were to be carried somewhere by a wind, or by men who had him in their power."
Here, Aristotle is explaining the concept of "involuntary" actions or passions. He says that an action can be considered involuntary if the person involved has no control or contribution to it—it happens entirely due to external forces. For example, if someone is physically carried away by natural forces like the wind or forcibly taken somewhere by other people, the person being acted upon isn't contributing to the decision or action; they’re essentially powerless in that situation. This lack of internal contribution from the individual is what defines it as involuntary.