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How does a habit become a virtue?

Virtue involves practiced judgment, not simply following an identical rule in every situation.

PhilosophyThinker · Selected readingSome background helpful
Background and goal

Try the short introduction first, or bring equivalent reading experience. Obtain the specified text before beginning the longer reading.

Compare courage, recklessness and avoidance in a concrete decision; explain what makes the circumstances matter.

Useful preparation

Start here if the background is new. Equivalent experience is enough.

  • Begin with Aristotle

    Introduces the question and vocabulary used in the longer selected reading.

    PhilosophyBeginner

Your pathway

5 steps · 14 hours
  1. 01

    Locate the reading

    0.25h · week 1
    Reading notes and task
    First fifteen minutesCheck the edition or article version and locate the passages below. Write the question you want the reading to resolve.
    Your outputEdition and passage record
  2. 02

    Study the opening

    4h · week 1
    Nicomachean Ethics

    Aristotle · book

    Introduction or preface and opening chapter. Record the edition and translator before reading.

    Library or purchase

    Find a copy
    Reading notes and task

    Nicomachean Ethics. Arguments about explanation, character and practical judgment. Read a definition together with the examples it is meant to explain.

    Try thisRead Introduction or preface and opening chapter. Record the edition and translator before reading.. Reconstruct the central argument using premises and a conclusion.
    Your outputArgument reconstruction
    Check your understanding

    Answer this question in your own words: How does a habit become a virtue?

    Hint

    Name the claim, then explain why a reader might accept it.

    Compare with an example answer

    Virtue involves practiced judgment, not simply following an identical rule in every situation.

    What to look for

    • States a claim that addresses the question
    • Connects the claim to a passage or observation
    • Separates the author’s argument from personal agreement

    Common mistake: Summarising a biography instead of explaining the argument.

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  3. 03

    Read for contrast

    5h · week 2
    Nicomachean Ethics

    Aristotle · book

    Locate two passages about “How does a habit become a virtue” using the contents or index. Record their chapter/section names in your notes; this route assigns selections, not the whole work.

    Library or purchase

    Find a copy
    Reading notes and task

    Nicomachean Ethics. Arguments about explanation, character and practical judgment. Read a definition together with the examples it is meant to explain.

    Try thisRead the two passages you located. Compare what each claims about “How does a habit become a virtue”. Record what changed and what remains unresolved.
    Your outputTwo-passage comparison
  4. 04

    Develop an example

    3h · week 3
    Reading notes and task
    Try thisCompare courage, recklessness and avoidance in a concrete decision; explain what makes the circumstances matter.
    Your outputWorked example
    Check your understanding

    What would make your activity a convincing example?

    Hint

    Compare courage, recklessness and avoidance in a concrete decision; explain what makes the circumstances matter.

    Compare with an example answer

    A useful response carries out the task: Compare courage, recklessness and avoidance in a concrete decision; explain what makes the circumstances matter. It records the observation or passage used and explains how it bears on the question.

    What to look for

    • Completes the specific task
    • Shows evidence or reasoning rather than only a conclusion
    • Identifies an alternative explanation or reading

    Common mistake: Presenting an opinion without showing the example it rests on.

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  5. 05

    Write a considered response

    1.75h · week 4
    Reading notes and task
    Try thisWrite a response to “How does a habit become a virtue?” that uses both passages and tests its own conclusion. Separate a reconstruction of virtue from accepting Aristotle’s social hierarchy.
    Your outputReasoned response with references
    Check your understanding

    What is one conclusion this reading does not establish?

    Hint

    Test the boundary: Separate a reconstruction of virtue from accepting Aristotle’s social hierarchy.

    Compare with an example answer

    Separate a reconstruction of virtue from accepting Aristotle’s social hierarchy.

    What to look for

    • States a specific limit
    • Explains why the reading does not warrant the stronger conclusion
    • Distinguishes a limitation from dismissing the work

    Common mistake: Treating a useful interpretation as an unrestricted fact.

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All 1 resources

Background, different viewpoints, and further reading.

  • Nicomachean Ethics

    Aristotlebookcore

    Arguments about explanation, character and practical judgment. Read a definition together with the examples it is meant to explain.

    Introduction or preface and opening chapter. Record the edition and translator before reading.