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Single Idea 24323

[catalogued under 20. Action / B. Preliminaries of Action / 2. Willed Action / c. Agent causation]

Full Idea

The voluntary would seem to be what has its starting-point in the agent himself, when he knows the particulars in which the action lies.

Gist of Idea

Voluntary acts have their starting-point in the agent himself

Source

Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics [c.334 BCE], 1111a23)

A Reaction

He cites failure to know the circumstantial particulars as the most forgivable sort of ignorance. Aristotle's key question about responsibility seems to concern the 'starting-point' of an action. Not free will - just the start of an event.

Book Reference

Aristotle: 'Nicomachean Ethics', ed/tr. Reeve, C.D.C. [Hackett 2024], p.37