Aristotle Vices

Aristotle's “doctrine of mean”states that virtues and vices are learned through habituation by acting in a virtuous way. In order to act in a virtuous way, one must acknowledge their action as a virtue, choose to do the action for the sake of virtue and do the action from a firm character trait. In other words, virtues are not natural but are instead an outcome of the experiences we have and what we learn. Furthermore, virtues and vices can be seen in a spectrum where vices are a result of acting too virtuous or not virtuous enough. In that case, virtues can be identified through the use of reasoning to determine what is too much and what is too little. However, as humans, Aristotle believes we are more inclined to act for our pleasure so we should be mindful of these when determining how we should act.

These idea can be illustrated with courage.

In order to obtain the virtue of courage, one must act courageously repeatedly. Through habituation, then, the person will become courageous. If the person is too courageous, however, they will develop the vice of arrogance. On the other hand, if the person is not courageous enough they will develop of vice of cowardice. At the same time, we may feel an enhanced pleasure from praise when acting courageous, so when determining our actions, we must be mindful that we do not become arrogant, Similarly, these idea can also be illustrated with generosity. In order to develop the virtue of generosity, the person must act generously periodically. Eventually, generosity will become a habit and therefore a virtue. However, if the person is too generous they may become reckless, whereas if they are not generous enough they could become stingy. On the same tract, the pleasure of giving may lead people toward reckless giving, while the pleasure of being wealthy may lead to people becoming

stingy.
Additionally, Aristotle suggests that adults can become better choosing the lesser vice of a particular virtue. In other words, if someone must choose which way to act between two vices they must choose the vice that is less bad through the use of reason. In the same manner, one should be mindful of their own flaws and should aim toward the opposite vice. That is, if one person is at one end of them spectrum of a specific virtue they should choose actions that are more toward the opposite end of the spectrum. Taking these steps will better one's character by allowing them to act more virtuous by moving away from acting vicious.
Again, these ideas can be seen in the virtue of courage. Since the two extremes of courage are cowardice and arrogance, if you have to choose one extreme you should choose the lesser evil which is determined on a case by case basis. For instance, in the case of saving someone’s life it may be better to act with arrogance rather than cowardice in order to ensure the person does not die. On other other hand, in the case of fighting in an unprovoked battle, cowardice may by the better vice to choose in order to avoid unnecessary conflict. This idea is similar to Aristotle's idea of “feel[ing] emotions at the right times, for the right objects, towards the right persons, for the right motives, and in the right manner” (326). In other words, every situation is different in determining whether an act if virtuous or vicious, as well as which extreme of a virtuous is better. However, if one’s actions are constantly at one extreme, they can better themselves by choosing actions that are more toward the opposite extreme. For instance, if some has the character trait of cowardice they can develop courage by acting courageous, whereas if they are arrogant they can develop courage by acting like a coward.