Notas sobre a definição de virtude moral em Aristóteles (EN 1106b 36- 1107a 2)

Abstract

This paper discusses some issues concerning the definition of moral virtue in Nicomachean Ethics 1106b 36- 1107a 2. It is reasonable to say that a definition must give a complete enumeration of the relevant features of its definiendum, and the definition of moral virtue seems to fail in doing this task. One might be tempted to infer that this definition is intended by Aristotle as a mere preliminary account that should be replaced by a more precise one. However, the context of the argument Aristotle develops in Book II of his Nicomachean Ethics give us some help. I argue that the definition of moral virtue, once considered in the light of its context, is far from being an incomplete and provisional account: it rather introduces coherently the same notion of moral virtue that Aristotle assumes in other texts (as in Nicomachean Ethics VI 13).