Book 3 / Chapter 5
Paragraph 1 - The Power of Virtue and Vice
Explanation - Part By Part
"The end, then, being what we wish for, the means what we deliberate about and choose, actions concerning means must be according to choice and voluntary."
Here, Aristotle is explaining that the end, or the ultimate goal we desire, is something we wish for. However, to achieve that goal, we need to focus on the means—the steps or actions required to get there. These means are not random or automatic; they involve our ability to think, deliberate (carefully consider our options), and then make conscious choices. Since these actions are based on deliberate choice, they are voluntary. In other words, we actively decide on the path we take toward our goals, and our choices are not forced upon us.
"Now the exercise of the virtues is concerned with means. Therefore virtue also is in our own power, and so too vice."
Aristotle is making an important point here: virtues (positive traits or moral excellence) and vices (negative traits or moral failings) are under our control because they involve the means—the choices we make about how to act or respond in various situations. Virtue isn't something that just happens to us; it requires deliberate actions and decisions. Similarly, vice is the result of choosing poorly. The key takeaway is that both being virtuous and being vicious are within our capabilities—they depend on our choices, not on external forces or uncontrollable circumstances.
"For where it is in our power to act it is also in our power not to act, and vice versa; so that, if to act, where this is noble, is in our power, not to act, which will be base, will also be in our power, and if not to act, where this is noble, is in our power, to act, which will be base, will also be in our power."
This part is saying that whenever we have the ability to take an action, we also have the ability to refrain from taking that action, and the reverse is also true. For example, if we are capable of doing something noble or virtuous, we also have the capacity to choose not to do it, which would then be a shameful or morally bad choice. Similarly, if we choose not to act when doing so would be noble, we are equally capable of taking the opposite action, which could then be dishonorable.
The key idea here is that virtue (or doing what is morally good) and vice (or doing what is morally bad) depend on the choices we make when such possibilities are within our control. The emphasis is on the freedom and responsibility tied to our choices: if we can choose to act in a good way, we can also choose to act in a bad way—or fail to act at all when good action is required.
"Now if it is in our power to do noble or base acts, and likewise in our power not to do them, and this was what being good or bad meant, then it is in our power to be virtuous or vicious."
Aristotle is presenting a key idea here: our moral character—whether we are virtuous (good) or vicious (bad)—is fundamentally shaped by the choices we make. He asserts that because we have control over our actions (and the decision to act or not act), we also have control over our moral character.
If we have the ability to perform good (noble) actions, we also have the ability to avoid doing bad (base) actions, and vice versa. This dual possibility means that being a good person (virtuous) or a bad person (vicious) ultimately lies within our own power and responsibility. Essentially, Aristotle is emphasizing moral agency: the idea that we are accountable for who we become because it is shaped by what we choose to do.