Gossip
How do you find your daily 'Milo scale' balance?
Chapter 1
The quest for eudaimonia
Chapter 2
The art of the golden mean
Chapter 3
Building character through habit
Chapter 4
The global legacy of virtue
YOUR GOAL
Master of Aristotle and the good life
Ch 2 · The art of the golden mean
artiteacher The Golden Mean
Skip the extremes, find the sweet spot, live in the golden mean!
artiteacher Temperance means enjoying life's physical pleasures in moderation without becoming greedy.
artiteacher True courage requires balancing fear and confidence rather than ignoring them.
BETA
artiteacher Balance the slider between extremes to master Aristotle's sweet spot of virtue.
Fun Fact
Golden mean origin: The idea of balance was so popular in Greece that the temple of Apollo at Delphi bore the famous carved maxim 'Nothing in excess.'
Glossary
golden mean (noun)
The desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency. Aristotle introduced this principle in the Nicomachean Ethics to define virtues like courage and temperance.
The desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency. Aristotle introduced this principle in the Nicomachean Ethics to define virtues like courage and temperance.
Quiz
What virtue lies directly between the extremes of being stingy (under-giving) and being wasteful (over-giving)?
Quiz
According to Aristotle, is the golden mean exactly the same mathematical middle for every single person?
Quiz
What did Aristotle call the virtuous middle ground between the extremes of excess and deficiency?
Quiz
Which vice represents the excess of courage, where a person takes unnecessary risks without fear?
Quiz
In Aristotle's ethics, what is the coward's deficiency that prevents them from being courageous?
Quiz
What Greek term did Aristotle use to refer to moral virtue or excellence of character?
Quiz
What is the golden mean between being boastful and being overly self-deprecating (mock-modest)?
Quiz
How did Aristotle describe the vice of 'insensibility' in relation to physical pleasures?