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How does a good person gradually become a bad person?

Usually, it doesn’t happen through one catastrophic decision. It happens slowly: one exception, then another, until what once bothered us becomes familiar, what becomes familiar becomes pleasurable, and what becomes pleasurable eventually becomes something we defend.

More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle explained why.

We become what we repeatedly do. Good actions form good habits and good character. But the same machinery works in the opposite direction: repeated bad choices can corrupt our desires, weaken self-control, and eventually distort our judgment about what is good.

In this episode of The Examined Life, we trace the descent from virtue → self-control → akrasia → vice, and examine one of the most disturbing implications of Aristotle’s ethics:

Your choices don’t merely determine what you do. They gradually shape the person who will make the next choice.

We’ll also look at rationalization, why remorse can actually be a good sign, how appetite can turn reason into its attorney, and how to recognize moral corruption before it becomes character.

Finally, we’ll apply Aristotle’s theory practically with a simple method for reversing the process: Prepare. Practice. Examine.

The question to ask yourself is not merely, What am I doing?

It is:

What am I practicing becoming?

Vita Examinata.

#Aristotle #Philosophy #Ethics #Virtue #SelfDiscipline #Character #TheExaminedLife

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