I had a student in my ethics class pose a question to which I do not know the answer. In searching my memory I cannot recall anyplace where Aristotle engages the issue he raised. Whereas Kant thinks that a moral action has greater value if it is done out of duty and contrary to inclination or disposition, e.g. the man who stays alive though he wants to die, purely because he knows it to be his duty to do so, Aristotle does not, to my recollection, place any weight on working against inclination or disposition. In fact, it seems to me that the notion of "habituation in virtue" tends to minimize original inclinations prior to such habituation. Am I forgetting something in Aristotle, or is this a nonissue for him?
This may be slightly askew but I think it's worth keeping in mind that virtue, for Aristotle, is about self-regulating our emotions/passions. Virtues develop when we successfully self-regulate in socially appropriate ways. Vices develop when we either ignore our emotions (excess) or when we allow ourselves to be ruled by our emotions (deficiency). So, if by "original inclinations" we mean to include the emotional context within which it makes sense to speak of virtue, Aristotle is all about them (and governing them appropriately). If not, then these not really a target for his thought.
Philadelphia, PA
Dear Johnson & readers,
I think Michaud gives a good reply to this important question.
My recurrent, Aristotelian refrain has been: Without self-restraint there is no virtue.
I would connect this with Aristotle's doctrine that every virtue is a mean between two extremes and that to attain to virtue one must begin by resisting the extreme to which one is most inclined.
For example, to attain to the virtue of courage, those more inclined to be rash and foolhardy must resist the impulse to rush ahead in the face of danger, stop and evaluate the situation; but those initially more ruled by fear or cowardice must force themselves to stand up to dangers where there is a genuine possibility to master them.
H.G.Callaway
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