In book VII of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle offers a famous account of self-control. Please explain Aristotle’s account of lack of self-control, explaining both types of it. What role does reason play in lack of self-control? Does the individual who lacks self-control have or not have particular reason? Aristotle’s Lack of self-control
Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics define self-control as what individuals exhibit after deliberating the right course of action and choosing the right thing to do despite temptation to turn to the other direction. Lack of self-control is seen when individuals are unable to resist temptation and follow the choices they make. Median is not resisting what is pleasurable, but enjoying it in moderation. Self-control focuses on the pleasures of the soul and of the body that is why it is described through appetite and wellness of one’s body. The person with self-control decides to do the right thing and sticks with that determination. After some time, self-control seizes from being an action and becomes a habit. Aristotle noted that it is easier to correct lack of self-control acquired through habit than it is to correct the innate lack of self-control.
One of the two types of lack of self-control is failure to stick with the conclusions of one’s deliberation due to being carried away by emotion. The second type of lack of self-control is failure to deliberate in the first place, letting emotion take over from reason. Lack of self-control is never a variety of practical wisdom. APA
Aristotle argued that it is easy to persuade the intemperate person using reason while the person without self-control is evidently impervious to reason (Aristotle & Ostwald, 1962). Aristotle argued that some people lack self-control due to learned behaviors as children. He stated that children who grew without clear boundaries may grow up to adults who have little to no self-control (Aristotle & Ostwald, 1962). Therefore, lack of self-control is a subject of poor upbringing and learned behaviors. Aristotle’s Lack of self-control