Aristotle is concerned, not with duty (how we ought to live or what acts we ought to do), but with virtue (what states of character are good).
Aristotle is concerned, not with duty (how we ought to live or what acts we ought to do), but with virtue (what states of character are good).
The "Ethics of Virtue" people often interpret him this way. But Aristotle seems concerned with both duty and virtue -- and how the two connect. You have a virtue when you've internalized a "right rule" about how you ought to act; the "right rule" determines the mean and hence what is virtuous.
So Aristotle doesn't slight duty. Instead, he says "we must examine actions, how we ought to do them."
Aristotle is concerned, not with duty (how we ought to live or what acts we ought to do), but with virtue (what states of character are good).
The "Ethics of Virtue" people often interpret him this way. But Aristotle seems concerned with both duty and virtue -- and how the two connect. You have a virtue when you've internalized a "right rule" about how you ought to act; the "right rule" determines the mean and hence what is virtuous.
So Aristotle doesn't slight duty. Instead, he says "we must examine actions, how we ought to do them."