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Abstrak
Aristotle’s theory of the golden mean is one of those ethical theories that have influenced humanity over the years. Worried by the general problem of ethics (the problem of human behaviour), especially after studying Socratic philosophy and the trial and death of Socrates, Aristotle sought to build an ethical system based on the conception of human nature. For him, philosophy committed a crime against humanity in the death of Socrates. Aristotle’s ethical theory saw three main positions according to which human actions could be judged. They are defect, mean and excess. He located virtue or the good life in the ‘mean’, which he calls the intermediate position between the two vices of defect and excess. This paper, therefore, examines Aristotle’s theory of the golden mean. It argues that his theory, at least, reaffirms the need for checks and balances in life (moderation). But just as the author saw the foregoing as a strength in Aristotle’s theory, the paper also saw some defects in the golden mean theory. For the author, it is not vice for someone to exhibit courage at its apex. It is rather a proof of maturity and full development of the rational faculty. Hence, the paper reformulates or redirects the cursor in Aristotle’s theory from what Aristotle calls the ‘mean’ to what the author calls the end. The paper concludes that there are three main positions as well: defect, mean, and end. Virtue lies in the end and not in the mean. The paper adopts the content-analytic method of study.