What is Truth? Aristotle and the Habituation of Appetite

The rational mind and prudence allow the individual to choose to act in a certain way. It allows the individual to consider the effects of actions performed as a result of the non-rational, appetitive mind. Rational thinking and prudence allow the individual to “look up” and to consider the ropes that have been thrown to them and see how they can be used to help them get out of the Pit. If one chooses to use rationality and prudence, non-rational actions can be avoided. We stop looking at the floor of the Pit and start looking for ways to get out. Further, the rational mind and prudence, because of the superiority of the rational mind over the non-rational mind, potentially allow for the appetites to be formed or modified to serve the rational goal of eudaimonia and Beatitude. The process by which this occurs is habituation. That is, we can actually form or develop appetitive behaviors that serve movement outside of the Pit. Habituation is the conscious and systematic “reprogramming” of the appetites to serve the rational goal of eudaimonia and Beatitude. Simply put, habituation is the conscious choice to develop actions or habits in life, which can be called virtue, in a repetitive and systematic manner by which, over time, these actions become normative. I have to be careful to stress “habits”, for Aristotle, as being positive behaviors. Some students read or hear the word “habit” and connote negative action. Aristotle shows that in the process of habituation, these virtues become the appetite of the individual. Habituation turns the non-rational appetitive mind into an agent for the rational mind. The result is an individual whose rational and non-rational mind are united in a common goal. The harmonious relationship of the rational and the non-rational mind forms an individual who can more readily achieve eudaimonia and Beatitude. The analogy I use is as you develop positive habits that serve a transcendent goal, if those habits are virtue, then you do them automatically, like breathing. It is like holding a door for someone without thinking.

St. Theresa's Church Discalced Carmelites. For the Discalced Carmelites, even going barefoot can become an appetite. That is, the can habituate themselves into wanting to go barefoot and to live a life of poverty. (photo P. Smith)