Huntingdon College Political
Science program; and Liberal
Arts Symposium on Justice, RIP, 1996-2001
Aristotle's Table of Virtues:
The Means Between Extremes
adapted from the Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Last updated 28 Jan 2001, reformatted
11 Mar. 2013, by Jeremy Lewis
Most moral virtues, and not just courage, are
understood as falling at the mean between two accompanying vices. Aristotle's
list may be represented by the following table:
| Vice
of Deficiency |
Virtuous Mean |
Vice of Excess |
| Cowardice |
Courage |
Rashness |
| Insensibility |
Temperance |
Intemperance |
| Illiberality |
Liberality |
Prodigality |
| Pettiness |
Munificence |
Vulgarity |
| Humble-mindedness |
High-mindedness |
Vaingloriness |
| Want of Ambition |
Right Ambition |
Over-ambition |
| Spiritlessness |
Good Temper |
Irascibility |
| Surliness |
Friendly Civility |
Obsequiousness |
| Ironical Depreciation |
Sincerity |
Boastfulness |
| Boorishness |
Wittiness |
Buffoonery |
| Shamelessness |
Modesty |
Bashfulness |
| Callousness |
Just Resentment |
Spitefulness |