196. The Golden Mean

The Golden Mean is an idea found in Aristotle's Ethics, The Tao Te Ching, and the Analects, and describes the right way of being. I've talked about the mean, or the way, previously on podcasts and articles. I wanted to revisit it here because I plan on diving deeper into what it is and why it matters. One of the courses coming soon will cover the thinkers from Aristotle and Lao Tsu to C.S. Lewis.

What is the Golden Mean?

The Golden Mean is simply a manner of behaving where your life is balanced and virtuous. You find this balance by acting in a virtuous manner given certain situations. Aristotle defines these balances in great detail in Ethics. And, Lao Tzu and Confucius define the ideas of balance, especially in Confucius’ Doctrine of the Mean.

"Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it."
-Aristotle

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Finding The Mean

In order to follow the mean you must know your situation and act in accord with virtue, given the circumstances. Aristotle called this Practical Wisdom. Practical Wisdom is the ability, to look at a given situation and apply the knowledge you have properly. Sometimes it’s right to stay and fight, others negotiate, and sometimes running and hiding is the best you can do. Most actions are not in and of themselves good or bad, but can be assessed as good or bad given a certain situation.

In order to attain Practical Wisdom, you will need two pieces: knowledge and prudence. As for knowledge, you should be well-versed in many fields, especially the virtues. That way, you can assess a wide range of situations with as many of the facts as possible.

Bioethics, for example, is a tough field to master if you don’t have the scientific and philosophical background to understand the problem. Because our endeavors in life are not so narrowly focused, we must expand our search for knowledge to incorporate all aspects of our lives.

Prudence is the ability to assess the specific situation you’re in and pull from the proper knowledge sources to address that particular circumstance. It is right judgement.