Choice and Moral Responsibility in Nicomachean Ethics 3.1–5
This chapter examines what the overall purpose of Nicomachean Ethics 3.1–5 is, and in doing so produces a unified interpretation of the passage, showing that Aristotle’s theory of responsibility is not based on notions of free decision or free will. The passage’s primary purpose is to explain how agents are responsible for their actions not just insofar as these are actions of this kind or that, but also insofar as they are noble or base: this is the step from responsibility generally to moral responsibility. Agents are responsible for their actions qua noble or base because, typically via choice (prohairesis), their character dispositions are a causal factor of those actions. An important second purpose of EN 3.1–5 is to explain how agents can be held responsible for certain consequences of their actions, in particular their character dispositions insofar as these are noble or base, that is, virtues or vices.