Virtue, habituation, and voluntariness

Journal article

This paper offers some remarks on ‘Aristotle on Learning by Doing Voluntary Actions’, by Rachana Kamtekar (https://doi.org/10.1080/24740500.2025.2573908). It begins by questioning Kamtekar’s claim that Aristotle’s account of voluntariness is deliberately placed by him after his discussion of learning. It is then suggested that Aristotle’s account is not as different from Plato’s as she suggests. The Aristotelian conception of ‘learning by doing’, as interpreted by Kamtekar, is criticized for its failure to allow for virtuous actions done out of character. The paper ends with a brief defence of Aristotle’s ‘doctrine of the mean’, adding to Kamtekar’s response to earlier criticism of the doctrine by Bernard Williams.

Authors: Crisp, R

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Journal: Australasian Philosophical Review
• Acceptance date: 2026-06-04
• EISSN: 2474-0519
• ISSN: 2474-0500
• Language: English