Problem
Susan Sauvé Meyer writes in regard to Aristotle's doctrine of the mean that "there is no such thing as 'the mean' tout court. The mean is always 'relative to' (pros) a goal." Using both Ancient Ethics and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, address the following issues:
I. Explain (in your own words) Aristotle's doctrine of the mean thoroughly.
i. What are the preconditions for applying the mean? What qualities do we have to possess in order to apply it correctly?
ii. In what kind of circumstances can the mean be applied, and in what kind of circumstances can it not?
II. If the mean is relative to a goal, is Aristotle's ethics relativistic? That is, does the nature of an ethical action change depending upon circumstances, our feelings about it, cultural differences, or other factors? If his ethics are relativistic, why are they so? If not, why not?