Golden mean (philosophy) - Wikipedia Golden mean (philosophy) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search The golden mean or golden middle way is the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency. It appeared in Greek thought at least as early as the Delphic Maxim nothing to excess and emphasized in later Aristotelian philosophy, [1] For example, in the Aristotelian view, courage is a virtue, but if taken to excess would manifest as recklessness, and, in deficiency, cowardice. Contents 1 History 1.1 Western philosophy 1.1.1 Crete 1.1.2 Delphi 1.1.3 Cleobulus 1.1.4 Socrates 1.1.5 Plato 1.1.6 Aristotle 1.2 Eastern philosophy 1.3 Judaism 1.4 Christianity 1.5 Islam 1.6 Hinduism 1.7 Modernity 2 Quotations 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 Bibliography History[edit] Western philosophy[edit] Crete[edit] The earliest representation of this idea in culture is probably in the mythological Cretan tale of Daedalus and Icarus. Daedalus, a famous artist of his time, built feathered wings for himself and his son so that they might escape the clutches of King Minos. Daedalus warns his beloved son whom he loved so much to "fly the middle course", between the sea spray and the sun's heat. Icarus did not heed his father; he flew up and up until the sun melted the wax off his wings. For not heeding the middle course, he fell into the sea and drowned. Delphi[edit] Another early elaboration is the Doric saying carved on the front of the temple at Delphi: "Nothing in Excess" ("Meden Agan"). Cleobulus[edit] To Cleobulus is attributed the maxim: Mέτρον ἄριστον "Moderation is best"[2] Socrates[edit] Socrates teaches that a man must know "how to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on either side, as far as possible."[3] In education, Socrates asks us to consider the effect of either an exclusive devotion to gymnastics or an exclusive devotion to music. It either "produced a temper of hardness and ferocity, (or) the other of softness and effeminacy."[citation needed] Having both qualities, he believed, produces harmony; i.e., beauty and goodness.[citation needed] He additionally stresses the importance of mathematics in education for the understanding of beauty and truth.[citation needed] Plato[edit] Proportion's relation to beauty and goodness is stressed throughout Plato's dialogues, particularly in the Republic and Philebus. He writes: SOCRATES: That any kind of mixture that does not in some way or other possess measure of the nature of proportion will necessarily corrupt its ingredients and most of all itself. For there would be no blending in such a case at all but really an unconnected medley, the ruin of whatever happens to be contained in it. PROTARCHUS: Very true. SOCRATES: But now we notice that the force of the good has taken up refuge in an alliance with the nature of the beautiful. For measure and proportion manifest themselves in all areas of beauty and virtue. PROTARCHUS: Undeniably. SOCRATES: But we said that truth is also inclined along with them in our mixture? PROTARCHUS: Indeed. SOCRATES: Well, then, if we cannot capture the good in one form, we will have to take hold of it in a conjunction of three: beauty, proportion and truth. Let us affirm that these should by right be treated as a unity and be held responsible for what is in the mixture, for goodness is what makes the mixture good in itself. (Phlb. 64d–65a) In the Laws, Plato applies this principle to electing a government in the ideal state: "Conducted in this way, the election will strike a mean between monarchy and democracy …" Aristotle[edit] In the Eudemian Ethics, Aristotle writes on the virtues. Aristotle’s theory on virtue ethics is one that does not see a person’s actions as a reflection of their ethics but rather looks into the character of a person as the reason behind their ethics. His constant phrase is, "… is the Middle state between …". His psychology of the soul and its virtues is based on the golden mean between the extremes. In the Politics, Aristotle criticizes the Spartan Polity by critiquing the disproportionate elements of the constitution; e.g., they trained the men and not the women, and they trained for war but not peace. This disharmony produced difficulties which he elaborates on in his work. See also the discussion in the Nicomachean Ethics of the golden mean, and Aristotelian ethics in general. Eastern philosophy[edit] Gautama Buddha (fl. 6th century BC) taught of the Middle Way, a path between the extremes of religious asceticism and worldly self-indulgence. Confucius in The Analects,[4] written through the Warring States period of Ancient China (c. 479 BC – 221 BC), taught excess is similar to deficiency. A way of living in the mean is the way of Zhongyong. Zhuangzi was the Tao's most famous commentator (369–286 BC).[5] Tiruvalluvar (2nd century BC and the 8th century AD; date disputed) in his Tirukkural of the Sangam period of Tamizhagam writes of the middle state which is to preserve equity. He emphasises this principle and suggests that the two ways of preserving equity is to be impartial and avoid excess. Parimelazhagar was the historical commentator of the Tirukkural. Judaism[edit] Main article: Golden mean (Judaism) Rambam in Mishneh Torah attributes this method to the first scholars (Chazal), and to Abraham. Indeed, a similar concept exists even in the Rabbinic literature, Tosefta and the Yerushalmi. Yitzhak Arama finds references even in the Bible. One such instance is Eccl. 7:16-17, where the preacher admonishes his audience to "be not righteous over much" and to "be not over much wicked." Adam Clarke takes the phrase "righteous over much" to mean indulging in too much "austerity and hard study," [6] and concludes that “there is no need of all this watching, fasting, praying, self-denial, etc., you carry things to extremes. Why should you wish to be reputed singular and precise?” [7] Thus, the ideal of the golden mean may have existed as long as six hundred years before Aristotle. However, some scholars, such as Albert Barnes, hold a slightly different interpretation of Ecclesiastes 7:16-17.[8] Ahead of the times Rambam, 1133-1204 AD (probably due to Plato's and Aristotle’s engagement with Ethics), determined that a person has to take care of his soul as well as his body, and just as a person who is sick in his body turns to the doctor, a person who has mental illness needs to go to the doctor of the soul, which is, according to him, the philosopher or the sage. Rambam opposed the deterministic approach, arguing that a person has free will and the ability to change its properties. Christianity[edit] Saint Thomas Aquinas, OP, the medieval Catholic philosopher and theologian, in his Summa Theologiae, Prima Secundæ Partis, Question 64, argued that Christian morality is consistent with the mean: "evil consists in discordance from their rule or measure. Now this may happen either by their exceeding the measure or by their falling short of it[.] ... Therefore it is evident that moral virtue observes the mean." Islam[edit] Islam promotes the golden mean in many instances. The Quran states an example in finance, in that a person should not spend all he makes as not to be caught needing, and not to be stingy as to not live a comfortable life. Muhammad also had a saying "خير الأمور أوسطها" meaning the best choice is the middle ground/golden mean one. In Quran (Chapter 'The Cow', verse number 143) it is said that, "We have made you a balanced, moderate nation". Quran quotes the example of two groups of people, calling one of them extremely greedy (Chasing the wealth of the world) in Chapter 'The Cow' verse 96 and to the others as inventors of monasticism (over-zealousness in religion) in Chapter Al-Hadeed verse number 27. Islam councils its followers to abstain from both these paths of extremities and adopt moderation in chasing the world and practicing religion alike. Not the least the Quran emphasises that the Muslim community ( Umma) is a ’middle nation’ / a 'just community' / an Umma justly balanced / a moderate nation / a midmost nation (ummatan wasaTan) in verse 2-143: a middle between extremism and sloppiness. Hinduism[edit] Many Hindu texts emphasize middle path. For example in verse 6:16 of Gita warrior Arjuna is told by Sri Krishna that "Yoga is not for one who eats too much, or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough. Modernity[edit] Jacques Maritain, throughout his Introduction to Philosophy (1930),[9] uses the idea of the golden mean to place Aristotelian-Thomist philosophy between the deficiencies and extremes of other philosophers and systems. Quotations[edit] This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) "In many things the middle have the best / Be mine a middle station." — Phocylides "When Coleridge tried to define beauty, he returned always to one deep thought; beauty, he said, is unity in variety! Science is nothing else than the search to discover unity in the wild variety of nature,—or, more exactly, in the variety of our experience. Poetry, painting, the arts are the same search, in Coleridge’s phrase, for unity in variety." — Jacob Bronowski "…but for harmony beautiful to contemplate, science would not be worth following." — Henri Poincaré. "If a man finds that his nature tends or is disposed to one of these extremes..., he should turn back and improve, so as to walk in the way of good people, which is the right way. The right way is the mean in each group of dispositions common to humanity; namely, that disposition which is equally distant from the two extremes in its class, not being nearer to the one than to the other." — Maimonides "What is wanted is a balance between extravagance and miserliness through moderation, with the goal of distance between both extremes." — al-Ghazali See also[edit] Frugality Centrism Neutrality Argument to moderation (logical fallacy) Averageness Doctrine of the Mean (Confucian analog) Golden ratio (golden mean applied to aesthetics, mathematics, geometry) Mathematical optimization Goldilocks principle Sweet spot Horseshoe theory Middle Way (Buddhist analog) Third Way Molinism (Middle Knowledge) Welfare in Sweden Sweden: the Middle Way Lagom Notes[edit] ^ Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics II.1 ^ "Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, BOOK I, Chapter 6 CLEOBULUS (c 600 B.C.)". Retrieved 10 August 2020. ^ Plato, Republic 10.619a ^ Confucius (2006). The Analects. Filiquarian Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-59986-974-2. ^ Watts, Alan with Huan, Al Chungliang (1975). Tao: The Watercourse Way. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-394-73311-8.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ^ Clarke, Adam (n.d.). "Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible". J. Emory and B Waugh. Retrieved May 30, 2018. “austerity and hard study” ^ Clarke, Adam (n.d.). "Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible". J. Emory and B Waugh. Retrieved May 30, 2018. “There is no need of all this watching, fasting, praying, self-denial, etc., you carry things to extremes. Why should you wish to be reputed singular and precise?” ^ Barnes, Albert (n.d.). "Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". Estes and Lauriate; John Murray; Blackie & Son; Funk & Wagnalls. Retrieved May 30, 2018. ^ Jacques Maritain (2005) [1st ed. 1930]. Introduction to Philosophy. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-7717-8. References[edit] Eudemian Ethics, 1233b15 Laws, 691c, 756e–757a Nicomachean Ethics, 1106a–b Politics, 1270a and 1271b Republic (Plato), 619 Bibliography[edit] The Greek Way, Edith Hamilton, W. W. Norton & Co., NY, 1993. Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Why the Greeks Matter, Thomas Cahill, Nan A. Talese an imprint of Doubleday, NY, 2003. v t e Aristotelianism Overview Aristotle Lyceum Peripatetic school Physics Biology Ethics Logic Theology (unmoved mover) Ideas and interests Active intellect Antiperistasis Arete Category of being Catharsis Classical unities Correspondence theory of truth Essence–accident Eudaimonia Four causes Future contingents Genus–differentia Hexis Hylomorphism Intromission theory of vision Ignoratio elenchi Lexis Magnanimity Mimesis Minima naturalia Moderate realism Aristotle's theory of universals (substantial form) Mythos Philosophy of nature (sublunary sphere) Philia Plenism Rational animal Phronesis Potentiality and actuality Sensus communis Substance theory (hypokeimenon, ousia) Syllogism Telos Temporal finitism To ti en einai/to ti esti Use value/exchange value Virtue ethics Corpus Aristotelicum Physics Organon Nicomachean Ethics Politics Metaphysics On the Soul Rhetoric Poetics Followers Alexander the Great Lyceum Aristoxenus Clearchus of Soli Dicaearchus Eudemus of Rhodes Theophrastus Strato of Lampsacus Lyco of Troas Aristo of Ceos Critolaus Diodorus of Tyre Erymneus Andronicus of Rhodes Islamic Golden Age Al-Kindi Al-Farabi Avicenna Averroes Jewish Maimonides Scholastics Peter Lombard Albertus Magnus Thomas Aquinas Duns Scotus Peter of Spain Jacopo Zabarella Pietro Pomponazzi Cesar Cremonini Modern Newman Trendelenburg Brentano Adler Foot MacIntyre Smith Hursthouse Nussbaum Related topics Platonism Commentaries on Aristotle Recovery of Aristotle Scholasticism Thomism Conimbricenses Pseudo-Aristotle Views on women Aristotle's wheel paradox Aristotle's razor Metabasis paradox Related categories ► Aristotle  Philosophy portal Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_mean_(philosophy)&oldid=990118311" Categories: Theories in ancient Greek philosophy Pythagorean philosophy Concepts in ancient Greek ethics Hidden categories: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2013 Articles needing additional references from May 2014 All articles needing additional references Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages العربية Asturianu Català Deutsch Español Esperanto Français 한국어 हिन्दी Italiano 日本語 Norsk bokmål Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Sardu Shqip Slovenčina Suomi Svenska Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 22 November 2020, at 22:35 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement