Deliberação, escolha, ação e responsabilidade moral em Aristóteles

Abstract

Especially on EN III, Aristotle devoted himself to present the elements for a theory of action. Such a theory is detailed in the broad picture of what is meant by moral responsibility and requires an investigation of practical reasoning in human actions, which is effective at the deliberate choice. The action is always opened to the contraries and therefore undetermined, and will be voluntary if the principle is in the agent and the circumstances are known. However, not all voluntary action is deliberated, as in cases where the action is based on impulse or passion, but all deliberated choice is voluntary. Moreover, one question arises: where is it placed the moral responsibility itself? Would it be enough the willingness of the action or is it necessary deliberation and choice? This research seeks to understand these issues and the relation between the theory of action and virtue, in an attempt to better understand the elements that guide decision-making and, in particular, decision-making in the context of business management. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the importance of the supreme human good, happiness, and the relevance of proper education of desires on the way of building the good habit and the conditions for perfect virtue. The path taken in this research includes the analysis of the motivation for actions and the justifications for each step in the evolution of the agent in its searching for perfect virtue, which will manifest itself in voluntary and deliberated chosen actions. In pursuit of the goals set for this thesis, one of the very important principles in Aristotle is in place: the constant attention of the accuracy and appropriate clarity in each investigation, according to the nature of the investigated object. Moral responsibility in Aristotle, it is possible to be identified in the combination of the actions taken by the character disposition of the agent, which includes not only the contingency and circumstance, but also a more profound subject, which is, precisely, the result of personal development of personal potentials, as a result of a lifetime of learning summed up.