Considerations on Golden mean
According to Aristotle, the golden mean forms the guiding principle of balance between two extreme dispositions. It involves the aspect of choice and balance and is essential in virtues. The golden mean is a model for making an ethical decision in a given context. Indeed, it is neither an arithmetic meaning nor about moderation. It of important for people since it enhances their critical thinking capacity in ethical situations for the sake of harmony in both their lives.
The world today is more complicated, people are faced with more complex ethical, religious, and cultural issues hindering the progress of virtue. It is, therefore, difficult by the look of things to establish how the golden mean can be of help to people in telling right and wrong while making ethical decisions. Simply because it is not a rule-book, but provides a virtuous way to critically think about a real-life situation.
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Perhaps Aristotle's awareness of the challenges of ethical decisions, made him conclude that the right choice of action should be based on circumstances surrounding the person’s action and the event.
One can experience fear, confidence, desire, anger, pity, and any kind of pleasure and pain in any extreme. The best course of the virtue must be experienced at the right time, to the right objects and people, for the right reason, and in the right manner.
Aristotle was convinced that ethics have to be practical. He stressed the need to form a habit of training a character and on rational control of emotions. Training of a character is initiated at an early age until the end of a person’s life. The condition of being a virtuous person involves excelling in good habits.
Learning is ever viewed as a lifelong process while students as lifelong learners. Education is still today a source of empowering vulnerable people in building meaningful lives. Just like the way parents and teachers have a vital role in the formation of the character of their children and students as role models, so are the teachers, instructors, mentors, and supervisors supposed to be role models for both their students and clients.
What is perhaps worth appreciating is that we are all capable of being more sophisticated in making decisions. We are presently judicious of our choices now than were ten years ago. Definitely, we will even be better a decade from now. We can anonymously agree that every choice equips us with a moment to reassess the basis of making decisions.
Every person in society has a responsibility and acting ethically means fulfilling our duties. We all have an ethical responsibility to do what our roles require and thus we can change our current world.
Ethics works in free will. Adults make choices out of their own conviction to act and be held accountable for their actions. However, sometimes what influences our choices is beyond our consciousness. We only come to understand later the reason for our choices. The challenge at hand is to try to bring out our very best in the present context in making choices today.
A very practical way of realizing that we have individual power is paying attention to the choices that we make and how they affect others. For instance, getting a reaction from our friends and relatives when we hurt them. Yet we may not be keen on fulfilling our obligations towards strangers. That is to avoid causing them harm.
Situations may make others act in a manner that can hurt our feelings, ethically we cannot retaliate unjustly against the person. It is important to remain ethical regardless of what happens around us.
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