Thinking method · Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics

Find the excess and the deficiency

Locating a good judgement between two failure modes rather than on a scale of more and less. Any trait you have been told to have "more" of.

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Locating a good judgement between two failure modes rather than on a scale of more and less.

The steps

1. Name the quality in question — confidence, generosity, caution.
2. Write what too little looks like, concretely, in your life.
3. Write what too much looks like.
4. Ask which side you actually err towards. Most people know.
5. Aim past the middle, towards the side you under-do.

When to use it

Any trait you have been told to have "more" of.

What it will not do

The middle is not a fixed point; it depends on the situation and on you. That is the difficulty, not a flaw.

Where it comes from: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. Described in our own words.