Book 7 / Chapter 8
Paragraph 3 - Incontinence and Self-Indulgence in Ethical Behavior
Explanation - Part By Part
"Now, since the incontinent man is apt to pursue, not on conviction, bodily pleasures that are excessive and contrary to the right rule, while the self-indulgent man is convinced because he is the sort of man to pursue them, it is on the contrary the former that is easily persuaded to change his mind, while the latter is not."
In this part, Aristotle is comparing two types of people: the incontinent person and the self-indulgent person. The incontinent person is someone who goes after excessive physical pleasures, but not because they truly believe it's the right thing to do—it's more about being overcome by impulse or weak will. On the other hand, the self-indulgent person actively chooses to pursue these excessive pleasures, because they have convinced themselves that this is good or fitting for them; it aligns with their character to seek these pleasures.
What sets them apart is their openness to change. The incontinent person, because they don't act out of deep conviction or belief, can be persuaded more easily to turn away from their behavior. They know, at some level, that what they're doing is wrong. The self-indulgent person, however, is much harder to convince to change, because their behavior is rooted in their deliberate choices and belief system—it's part of who they are, not just a momentary lapse of willpower.
"For virtue and vice respectively preserve and destroy the first principle, and in actions the final cause is the first principle, as the hypotheses are in mathematics; neither in that case is it argument that teaches the first principles, nor is it so here-virtue either natural or produced by habituation is what teaches right opinion about the first principle."
Aristotle is making a comparison here between how we approach foundational truths in life and how we approach certain starting points in mathematics. Let’s break it down:
He is saying that virtue (good moral habits) helps us protect and uphold the "first principles" in life, while vice (bad moral habits) destroys or undermines them. By "first principles," he's referring to the fundamental starting points of moral reasoning—what we consider good, right, or worth pursuing. These principles shape all our actions and decisions.
Then, Aristotle likens this idea to mathematics. In mathematics, there are hypotheses or assumptions (like axioms and basic rules) that serve as the foundation for further reasoning. You don’t prove these foundational assumptions through argument; they’re simply accepted as the starting framework. Similarly, in moral life, you don’t just intellectually "argue" your way into the right principles—what’s truly fundamental to moral understanding isn't purely learned through reasoning.
Instead, Aristotle argues that it is virtue—either built into our nature or taught to us through habits and practice—that develops the right understanding of these first principles. Virtuous living helps us to "see" what is morally correct in a way that reasoning alone cannot.
This is why a virtuous person has clarity about what is fundamentally good, while someone ruled by vice (a morally bad life) cannot grasp or respect these essential principles—they lose sight of what’s right and foundational. These "first principles" are not about logical deduction but rather about how one develops their character and understanding through living correctly.
"Such a man as this, then, is temperate; his contrary is the self-indulgent."
In this part, Aristotle is emphasizing a distinction between someone who is temperate and someone who is self-indulgent. A temperate person is someone who has learned, either naturally or through habit, to have the right perspective on what is truly good or appropriate to pursue. They are able to keep their desires in check and follow reason.
By contrast, the self-indulgent person disregards what is truly good and simply pursues excessive, bodily pleasures because they are convinced that those pleasures are worth chasing. Unlike the temperate person, the self-indulgent person has no internal restraint—they actively embrace their unbalanced desires.