“ But if a man harms another by choice, he acts unjustly ”
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (c. 334 BC - 330 BC). copy citation
Author | Aristotle |
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Source | Nicomachean Ethics |
Topic | choice harm |
Date | c. 334 BC - 330 BC |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | Translated by W. D. Ross |
Weblink | http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.mb.txt |
Context
“but, agreeing about the fact, they dispute on which side justice lies (whereas a man who has deliberately injured another cannot help knowing that he has done so) , so that the one thinks he is being treated unjustly and the other disagrees.
But if a man harms another by choice, he acts unjustly; and these are the acts of injustice which imply that the doer is an unjust man, provided that the act violates proportion or equality. Similarly, a man is just when he acts justly by choice; but he acts justly if he merely acts voluntarily.”
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