According to Aristotle, acting morally means allowing the irrational to override the rational.
The correct answer and explanation is:
The statement “According to Aristotle, acting morally means allowing the irrational to override the rational” is incorrect.
Aristotle’s ethical philosophy emphasizes the importance of reason in moral action. He believed that humans are rational beings and that living a moral life involves the proper use of reason to guide actions and emotions. For Aristotle, the soul has rational and irrational parts, but the rational part should govern the irrational. Acting morally means aligning desires and emotions with rational principles, rather than allowing irrational impulses to dominate.
In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, virtue is described as a mean between extremes, found through reasoned choice. Moral virtue involves habituation of good actions guided by practical wisdom (phronesis), which is the rational capacity to deliberate well about what is good and beneficial for the individual and the community. Thus, reason plays a central role in determining moral virtue and ethical behavior.
The irrational part of the soul consists of desires and emotions, and Aristotle recognizes their influence on human behavior. However, moral virtue requires that these elements be moderated and controlled by reason, not allowed to override it. For example, courage is the virtue between recklessness (excessive irrational fearlessness) and cowardice (excessive irrational fear). The courageous person uses rational judgment to find the appropriate response to danger.
In summary, Aristotle’s view is that morality is rooted in reason and that acting morally means allowing the rational part of the soul to guide and moderate the irrational parts. Moral actions come from a harmony between reason and emotion where reason leads. Therefore, the idea that morality involves the irrational overriding the rational contradicts Aristotle’s philosophy.