[
1223b]
[1]
so that the uncontrolled man will
act unrighteously by acting in conformity with desire. But unrighteous
action is voluntary.
1 Therefore he will
be acting voluntarily, and action guided by desire is voluntary.
Indeed it would be strange if those who become uncontrolled will be
more righteous.
2— From these considerations, then, it would appear that
what is in conformity with desire is voluntary; and from this the
opposite
3 follows, for all that a
man does voluntarily he wishes to do, and what he wishes to do he does
voluntarily, but nobody wishes what he thinks to be bad. But yet the
uncontrolled man does not do what he wishes, for being uncontrolled
means acting against what one thinks to be best owing to desire; hence
it will come about that the same person is acting voluntarily and
involuntarily at the same time. But this is impossible. And further, the
self-controlled man will act righteously, or more righteously than
lack of control will; for self-control is goodness, and goodness makes
men more righteous. And a man exercises self-control when he acts
against his desire in conformity with rational calculation. So that if
righteous action is voluntary, as also unrighteous action (for both of
these seem to be voluntary, and if one of them is voluntary it follows
of necessity that the other is also), whereas what is contrary to
desire is involuntary, it therefore follows that the same person will
do the same action voluntarily and involuntarily at the same
time.
The same argument applies also in the case
of passion;
[20]
for there appear
to be control and lack of control of passion as well as of desire and
what is contrary to passion is painful and restraint is a matter of
force, so that if what is forced is involuntary, what is in accordance
with passion will always be voluntary. Even Heracleitus
4 seems to have
in view the strength of passion when he remarks that the checking of
passion is painful; for 'It is difficult (he says) to do battle with
passion, for it buys its wish at the price of life.' And if it is impossible to do
the same act voluntarily and involuntarily at the same time and in
respect of the same part of the act, action guided by one's wish is
more voluntary than action guided by desire or passion. And a proof of
this is that we do many things voluntarily without anger or
desire.
It remains, therefore, to consider whether
acting as we wish and acting voluntarily are the same. This also seems
impossible. For it is a fundamental assumption with us, and a general
opinion, that wickedness makes men more unrighteous; and lack of
self-control seems to be a sort of wickedness. But from the hypothesis
that acting as we wish and acting voluntarily are the same the
opposite will result; for nobody wishes things that he thinks to be
bad, yet he does them when he has become uncontrolled, so if to do
injustice is voluntary and the voluntary is what is in accordance with
one's wish, then when a man has become uncontrolled he will no longer
be acting unjustly but will be more just than he was before he lost
control of himself. But this is impossible. Therefore it is clear that
acting voluntarily does not mean acting in accordance with appetition
nor acting involuntarily acting in opposition to appetition.
Also it is clear from the following considerations that voluntary
action does not mean acting in accordance with purposive choice. It
was proved
5 that
acting in accordance with one's wish is not acting involuntarily,