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That bad habit Aristotle calls the vice of cowardice (MORTIMER J. ADLER)

That bad habit Aristotle calls the vice of cowardice (MORTIMER J. ADLER)

Aristotle calls another aspect of moral virtue courage. Just as temperance is
an habitual disposition to resist the lure of pleasures for the sake of more
important goods that overindulgence in pleasure would prevent us from getting,
so courage is an habitual disposition to take whatever pains may be involved in
doing what we ought to do for the sake of a good life.

For example, we recognize that getting knowledge and developing certain
skills are intellectual virtues that we ought to have. But acquiring knowledge and
skills may be painful. Studying is often hard to do; learning how to play a
musical instrument well, how to write well, or how to think well involves
practicing that is often irksome.

The habit of avoiding what is difficult or irksome because it is painful can
certainly interfere with your acquiring knowledge and skills that are really good
for you to have. That bad habit Aristotle calls the vice of cowardice.

The person who habitually avoids taking pains and trouble for the sake of
obtaining real goods is as much a coward as the soldier who runs away in battle
for fear of getting hurt. The soldier who risks his life or overcomes his fear of
injury for the sake of victory in a good cause has courage. So, too, has anyone
who habitually takes trouble, undergoes hardships, and suffers pain, in order to
obtain things that are really good for him.

 

 

 

 

ARISTOTLE FOR EVERYBODY
MORTIMER J. ADLER



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