Book 3 / Chapter 1
Paragraph 5 - Compulsion and Responsibility
Explanation - Part By Part
"But if some one were to say that pleasant and noble objects have a compelling power, forcing us from without, all acts would be for him compulsory; for it is for these objects that all men do everything they do."
Aristotle is addressing the idea that someone might claim pleasant (enjoyable) and noble (honorable, virtuous) things exert a kind of external force on people, "compelling" them to act. This would mean that all human actions—since they are generally aimed at achieving pleasure or nobility—would count as being done under compulsion. Essentially, he's questioning whether the pursuit of these attractive goals should be considered something that forces us involuntarily, like an external pressure beyond our control.
"And those who act under compulsion and unwillingly act with pain, but those who do acts for their pleasantness and nobility do them with pleasure;"
Aristotle is pointing out a clear difference between actions done because you're forced to (compulsion) and actions done willingly because they're enjoyable or honorable. When people act under compulsion—when they’re doing something they don’t want to do—they feel pain or distress since it’s against their will. On the other hand, when people take actions that align with what they find enjoyable (pleasantness) or morally virtuous (nobility), they do so with a sense of fulfillment or happiness, because these actions resonate with their desires or values. Essentially, our emotional response to an action reflects whether it is freely chosen or forced upon us.
"it is absurd to make external circumstances responsible, and not oneself, as being easily caught by such attractions, and to make oneself responsible for noble acts but the pleasant objects responsible for base acts."
This part highlights Aristotle's belief in personal accountability and consistency in moral judgment. He argues that it is illogical or unfair to shift responsibility to external circumstances (such as something being pleasurable) when we behave poorly, yet take credit for ourselves when we act virtuously or nobly. In simpler terms, it’s inconsistent to blame external forces for our bad choices ("I couldn’t help it; it was too tempting") while claiming our good choices as entirely our own doing. Aristotle is emphasizing personal responsibility—both for noble actions and for base or immoral ones.
"The compulsory, then, seems to be that whose moving principle is outside, the person compelled contributing nothing."
In this statement, Aristotle clarifies a key point about what makes an action truly "compulsory" or forced. For an action to be considered compulsory, its cause or driving force must come entirely from outside the person, without the person playing any role in initiating or choosing it. In other words, the individual being "compelled" does not contribute to the action at all—it is imposed on them wholly by external circumstances or forces.
To sum it up: an action is compulsory only when the person being compelled had absolutely no part in causing or deciding it—it happens to them, not because of them.