Habit, Choice, and Action
Aristotle’s Analysis of Ethical Virtue
Abstract
In Creature dell’abitudine. Abito, costume, seconda natura da Aristotele alle scienze cognitive, Marco Piazza argues that, for Aristotle, habit stabilizes human action, making it regular, albeit contingent and voluntary. Drawing on his interpretation, this article examines the relationship between habit, choice, and action in Aristotle’s theory, focusing on how habit forms the basis of virtue, morally shaping human nature while preserving its contingency. To this end, it examines the formation and essence of ethical virtue, analyzes the connection between virtue and choice, and elucidates the relationship between choice and contingency.
Presentato: 14 Maggio 2025 | Accettato: 23 Settembre 2025 | Pubblicato 11 Dicembre 2025 | Lingua: en
Keywords Aristotle • Habit • Choice • Deliberation • Contingency action
Copyright © 2025 Francesca Masi. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Jolma/2723-9640/2025/02/004