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Ethics and Values / Unit 6   Ethics 255 short lesson, about 20 seconds

The Doctrine of the Mean

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The idea

The doctrine of the mean: each virtue sits between two vices — excess and deficiency — at a point set for the particular person and situation.

In practice

Generosity in a junior clerk and in a billionaire differ in dollars while being one virtue. The mean is relative to us, not an average.

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