Book 7 / Chapter 1
Paragraph 1 - Three Kinds of Moral States to Avoid
Explanation - Part By Part
"Let us now make a fresh beginning and point out that of moral states to be avoided there are three kinds-vice, incontinence, brutishness."
Aristotle is identifying three harmful or undesirable moral states that people should avoid. These are:
1. Vice: A habitual or deliberate engagement in immoral or bad behaviors that go against virtue and ethical actions.
2. Incontinence: A lack of self-control or the inability to resist harmful desires or impulses, even when one understands they are wrong.
3. Brutishness: Behavior that is excessively base, cruel, or animalistic, lacking any sense of reason or virtue.
These moral states represent deviations from the ideal of living a virtuous and reasoned life, which Aristotle aims to explore in the broader discussion of ethics.
"The contraries of two of these are evident,-one we call virtue, the other continence; to brutishness it would be most fitting to oppose superhuman virtue,"
Aristotle is explaining that there are three negative moral states people should avoid: vice (immorality or bad character), incontinence (lack of self-control), and brutishness (a state so degraded it resembles animal-like behavior). For the first two—vice and incontinence—he identifies clear opposites: virtue (excellence of character) opposes vice, and continence (self-control) opposes incontinence.
However, when it comes to brutishness, Aristotle suggests that its opposite is not just ordinary human virtue, but something far greater—a superhuman or divine virtue. This kind of virtue surpasses normal human excellence and reaches a god-like, heroic level. He gives the example of Hector, from Homer’s epics, whom Priam describes as being so good and noble that he seemed more like he came from the gods than from humans.
In short: for Aristotle, overcoming brutishness requires exceptional, almost otherworldly moral excellence.
"a heroic and divine kind of virtue, as Homer has represented Priam saying of Hector that he was very good, For he seemed not, he, The child of a mortal man, but as one that of God's seed came."
In this part, Aristotle is discussing different kinds of moral states and their opposites. Specifically, he addresses "brutishness," which refers to a state of moral corruption or depravity that goes beyond mere human failings. It is something almost subhuman in its lack of ethical reasoning or moral behavior. To contrast this state, Aristotle introduces the idea of "superhuman virtue"—a type of virtue that is so extraordinary, it seems beyond the capacity of ordinary humans.
He uses a reference from Homer, where Priam describes Hector, his son, as being so noble, brave, and virtuous that he appears to have qualities not of a regular human but of divine origin. Priam says Hector seemed "as one that of God's seed came," implying that Hector’s goodness and virtue were so remarkable, they felt godlike or supernatural.
Here, Aristotle is making a point about the extremes of moral character: if brutishness represents a moral state below humanity, then superhuman virtue represents a moral state above humanity. This sets up a spectrum of moral qualities, positioning regular human virtues and flaws somewhere in between those extremes.