Aristotelian, Self-Perpetuating, Vicious, And Beastly

Because people seem to be most optimistic about virtuous people, it may seem controversial that not only can a virtuous person stop being virtuous, but if they do, they will fall to vice faster than would an agent from any other character state, not slower.

In this paper I will, with evidence in favour of connected Aristotelian, self-perpetuating, character states, prove why this unconventional view is true. Before getting too heavily into this explanation, we must demystify Aristotle’s states.

The Character States.

A character state is an acquired disposition to behave and think in particular ways. Aristotle offers us six main states of character: Godly, Virtuous, Continent, Incontinent, Vicious, and Beastly. Each character state has its

As age brings accountability for actions, people develop habits. A habit of Good action results in Continence; a habit for Bad action results in Incontinence. Accountability also strips people of ignorance and forces people into a character state. In the above diagram, each valley is labelled as a different character state to illustrate the self-perpetuating nature of the states. Once in a valley, it is an “uphill climb” to leave, though states are easier to leave the further away from the extremities they lie. Also illustrated is the full spectrum of states; no state can be skipped during progression. For each valley, the slope proceeding to the Good is steeper than the slope leading to the Bad; this is consistent with the theory of first and second nature, and Aristotle’s theory of the human tendency to pleasurable Vice. The overall progression is also sloped due to this nature and tendency. Progress to the Good will always be more difficult than descent to the

At what point do you shift from one state to the next. Anton writes a bit on Pg. 26, check for reference. Also talks about how one becomes ignorant of virtue. This is important!!!!)

Aristotle’s classification of states as self perpetuating is not incompatible with agential mutability, but his concept does support the difficulty of actually changing one’s state. Agential mutability is also compatible with his idea that human nature tends toward Vice, not Virtue; it is possible to change into a Virtuous person, but it is exceedingly difficult. In absence of proper understanding or direction that would cause a person to be desirous of Virtue, they will default toward Vice, simply because Vice feels good.