“Who Deserves Blame? We don’t blame people for things they can’t control, like being born blind. But if someone ruins their health through laziness, we hold them responsible. The same rule applies to character. If someone is born into a bad situation, they aren’t to blame. But if they keep making bad choices and refuse to change, they are responsible for who they become. Some might say, ‘People don’t choose what looks good to them.’ But a person who always does the wrong thing has trained themselves to want the wrong things. A good person learns to see what is truly good. Since we can choose to be good, we can also choose to be bad. Both are in our power.” -The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 53

“Our habits shape who we are. Just like an athlete gets stronger by training, a person who keeps making bad choices becomes a bad person. If they refuse to admit this, they’re just making excuses. Can People Change Once They Have Bad Habits? A person who keeps choosing to lie or be selfish can’t say they don’t want to be that way—they’re making that choice every day. But once a bad habit is formed, it’s much harder to change—just like ignoring a doctor’s advice can lead to an illness that’s difficult to cure. Think of it like dropping a rock. Before you drop it, you have the power to hold on. But once you let go, you can’t stop it from falling. In the same way, we can choose our actions in the beginning, but if we keep making bad choices, it gets harder to turn back. This means being a good or bad person is up to us—our choices shape who we become.” -The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 52-53

“Pleasure is tricky—it can make something feel right even when it’s actually harmful. That’s why virtue requires wisdom and discipline, not just instinct.” -The Nichomachean Ethics - For Everyone, Aristotle, Kindle Edition, pg. 43