Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics

Why is it so difficult to be virtuous?

why is it so difficult to be virtuous?

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According to Aristotle, it is difficult to ,be virtuous if you aren't in the habit of being virtuous. He notes that if you aren't virtuous, vice is a source of pleasure, but if you are virtuous, vice is a source of pain. Thus, the more virtuous you are, the easier it is to be virtuous.

“We must take as a sign of states of character the pleasure or pain that ensues on acts; for the man who abstains from bodily pleasures and delights in this very fact is temperate, while the man who is annoyed at it is self-indulgent, and he who stands his ground against things that are terrible and delights in this or at least is not pained is brave, while the man who is pained is a coward. For moral excellence is concerned with pleasures and pains; it is on account of the pleasure that we do bad things, and on account of the pain that we abstain from noble ones.”

Source(s)

Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics