September 4, 2012

Aristotle's Notion of Choice

In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defines the nature of choice as a voluntary act. He notes, however, that voluntary acts cover a wider spectrum than those resulting from choice. He explains the process of choosing a means to an end, which follows the deliberation of something within our control and attainable through an action. Aristotle makes a distinction between choice an opinion, stating that opinion is a matter of truth vs. falsehood whereas choice is a matter of good vs. evil. In regards to this distinction, I have a few questions: Do we not choose a particular opinion as opposed to another, on the basis of which we hold higher value? Does my opinion of the Capitalist system based on deliberation about its grounds in good or evil, not result in my choice to reject it as a valuable societal construct (and possibly lead to several actions on my part to resist its constraints)? Or are those opinions on objects which are grounded by knowledge and subject to moral judgement exceptions to this distinction? Are opinion and choice separate but equal results of deliberation, one leading to an action and one leading to a view or belief? or Is opinion a middle ground between deliberation and choice?

1 comment:

anaistamayo said...

I would agree that choice and opinions are linked. Since you mentioned a possible exception, it made me wonder if opinions that haven't been deliberated also count as an exception. If an opinion isn't deliberated, does that take out some element of choice?

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