Students often wrongly conclude Aristotle is a relativist because he talks of finding the golden mean rather than pinpointing exactly what one ought to do; but 'find the golden mean' is precisely pinpointing what one ought to do—use the gifts God has given you and make up your own mind in light of all the input you have.

normativepending

Speaker

Unidentified Speaker — A History of Philosophy | 14 Aristotle's Ethics [cxHz6E0KgKg]

Evidence Quote

I sometimes find that um in an introductory class where you know we have a one-day shot on Aristotle um introductory students will often say um oh Aristotle is a relativist you see um I how do they get to that conclusion well because he talks of finding the golden mean rather than pinpointing exactly what you ought to do you see but to say find the golden mean is pinpointing exactly what you ought to do namely um translating it into Christian language use the gifts that God has given you and make up your own mind in the light of all the input you got

Source

A History of Philosophy | 14 Aristotle's Ethicswheatoncollege
Created: 8/11/2026, 12:01:26 AM

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