ABSTRACT
Readers of the Ethics frequently mark a tension between two apparently different descriptions that Aristotle gave of the good life. Aristotle is famous for the thesis that every virtue is a mean between opposing extreme vices. In short, Aristotle believed that virtuous activity implies acceptance of an ideal and guidance by that ideal. Aristotle believed that moderation also matters to the virtuous person intrinsically, in the sense that she sees it as a human excellence, as something of worth that merits esteem and emulation in itself. All ethical virtues concern "passions and actions", and these in turn always admit of "excess, defect, and the intermediate". Aristotle presented his entire catalogue of virtues in the same framework, although not without some heavy lifting. According to Aristotle and his followers, then, only an upbringing that nurtures natural maturation and growth and develops the right habits can get one inside the circle of ethical ideas and thought in the first place.
