Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: The Golden Mean And Virtue

Aristotle believes that through reason a person can achieve happiness or Eudaimonia. In his Nicomachean Ethics, happiness is achieved by fulfilling your function well. Humankind’s function is to exercise reason. This ethical conduct is achieved by following the Golden Mean, were one should always seek a middle ground between two extremes. I believe that life can benefit by following reason and a person could use a Golden Mean to determine the right action, however there are some instances where it shouldn’t be followed. In this essay I defend using the Golden Mean and virtue to live a good life, but provide specific examples where it shouldn’t be followed. By developing your character and being a better person through moderation,
Using the Golden mean can be helpful in striving to be a better person, for example if the person wanted to be more confident they would avoid being either too timid or too presumptuous. Overall being reasonable and striving for moderation in life can lead to happiness in most cases. Arguments that believe that there is a universal Golden Mean that everyone should follow should understand that the Golden Mean is actually entirely dependent on the person. Aristotle noted that “the [Golden Mean] will vary with the individual” (Aristotle, Fiero 111). Indicating that there is no absolute mean for which to follow but rather depended on the perspective of the person. Aristotle used an example of a body builder versus a beginner gymnast in how much they should eat to explain this variance
Were the body builder would eat more than the beginner gymnast because they both have different diets. This is important to note because it shows how the Golden Mean is exclusive to the person. This means that a Golden Mean can’t be applied towards a group of people considering not everyone has the same viewpoints. In some cases the Golden Mean can’t work because it would be unreasonable to do so. Therefore one cannot strictly follow the Golden Mean in every action they take. When dealing with a problem that is immoral or evil one can’t simply find a side that supports both extremes. For example one would be unreasonable in trying to find a middle ground in slavery. Because you either have slavery or you don’t. This can also be seen in controversial topics in politics. For example regarding abortion a politician can’t exactly find a moderate side between being pro-life and pro-choice, since there is no middle ground that reasonably accommodates both. Therefore the Golden Mean doesn’t really work in situations where the choices have to be strictly one-sided. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics provided insights in human conduct were the Golden Mean can be