ANOMALOUS VIRTUELESS VICE
As I read of "Justice" in Aristotle's "NIcomachean Ethics," I note the absence of racism ever mentioned.
Evidently, racism is of such recent invention as to have eluded and elided the elite, most elect savants of Western European history, like the Greeks, namely Aristotle, who was conversant with extant vices.
But he does distinguish justice and injustice in their relative exercise:
He writes:
"This form of justice, then, is complete virtue, but not absolutely, but in relation to our neighbor. And therefore justice is often thought of as the greatest virtues , and 'neither evening nor morning star' is so wonderful; and proverbially 'in justice is every virtue comprehended.' And it is complete virtue in its fullest sense, because it is the actual exercise of complete virtue. It is complete because he who possesses it can exercise his virtue not only in himself but towards his neighbor also; for many men can exercise their virtue in their own affairs, but not in their relations to their neighbor. This is why the saying of Bias is thought to be true, that 'rule will show the man'; for a ruler is necessarily in relation to other men and a member of a society. For this same reason, justice alone of the virtues, is thought to be 'another's good', because it is related to our neighbor; for it does what is advantageous to another, either a ruler or a copartner. Now the worst man is he who exercises his wickedness both towards himself and his friends, and the best man is not he who exercises his virtue towards himself but he exercises it towards another; for this is a difficult task. Justice in this sense, then, is not part of virtue but is virtue entire, nor is the contrary injustice a part of vice, but vice entire. What the difference is between virtue and justice in this sense is plain from what we have said; they are the same but their essence is not the same; what, as a relation to one 's neighbor, is justice is, as a certain kind of state without qualification, virtue."
P.1003-4, "Nicomachean Ethics," THE BASIC WORKS OF ARISTOTLE (1941, 2001)
American racism, then, is not only such injustice, wickedness, per se, that per Aristotle, and pre-Aristotle its vice is so virtueless as to defy all known historical, philosophical, categorization, being anomalous !
Friday, November 10, 2017
VIRTUE JUSTICE INJUSTICE VICE
ANOMALOUS VIRTUELESS VICE
As I read of "Justice" in Aristotle's "NIcomachean Ethics," I note the absence of racism ever mentioned.
Evidently, racism is of such recent invention as to have eluded and elided the elite, most elect savants of Western European history, like the Greeks, namely Aristotle, who was conversant with extant vices.
But he does distinguish justice and injustice in their relative exercise:
He writes:
"This form of justice, then, is complete virtue, but not absolutely, but in relation to our neighbor. And therefore justice is often thought of as the greatest virtues , and 'neither evening nor morning star' is so wonderful; and proverbially 'in justice is every virtue comprehended.' And it is complete virtue in its fullest sense, because it is the actual exercise of complete virtue. It is complete because he who possesses it can exercise his virtue not only in himself but towards his neighbor also; for many men can exercise their virtue in their own affairs, but not in their relations to their neighbor. This is why the saying of Bias is thought to be true, that 'rule will show the man'; for a ruler is necessarily in relation to other men and a member of a society. For this same reason, justice alone of the virtues, is thought to be 'another's good', because it is related to our neighbor; for it does what is advantageous to another, either a ruler or a copartner. Now the worst man is he who exercises his wickedness both towards himself and his friends, and the best man is not he who exercises his virtue towards himself but he exercises it towards another; for this is a difficult task. Justice in this sense, then, is not part of virtue but is virtue entire, nor is the contrary injustice a part of vice, but vice entire. What the difference is between virtue and justice in this sense is plain from what we have said; they are the same but their essence is not the same; what, as a relation to one 's neighbor, is justice is, as a certain kind of state without qualification, virtue."
P.1003-4, "Nicomachean Ethics," THE BASIC WORKS OF ARISTOTLE (1941, 2001)
American racism, then, is not only such injustice, wickedness, per se, that per Aristotle, and pre-Aristotle its vice is so virtueless as to defy all known historical, philosophical, categorization, being anomalous !
