golden mean
Aristotle's ideal balance
The golden mean is the desirable middle ground between two extremes—moderation rather than excess or deficiency.
The concept comes from Aristotle's ethics, where virtue lies between opposing vices: courage between cowardice and recklessness, generosity between stinginess and wastefulness.
She tried to find the golden mean between strictness and permissiveness.
Greek founder of formal logic
- Nicomachean EthicsAristotelian treatise on virtue
- practical wisdomSound judgment in action
- areteSharp glacial ridge
- moral virtueEthical character trait
Habitual moderation in behavior
- balanceSteadiness or amount owed
- restraintControl over impulses
- self-controlAbility to restrain impulses
- prudenceCareful, wise judgment
measure · equanimity · composure · proportion · judiciousness · reasonableness · sobriety · discipline
Twenty-first Greek letter
- FibonacciPisan mathematician, numeral importer
- proportionalityScaling relationship between quantities
- sacred geometrySymbolic patterns with spiritual significance
Aristotle
Greek founder of formal logic
- Nicomachean EthicsAristotelian treatise on virtue
- practical wisdomSound judgment in action
- areteSharp glacial ridge
moral virtue · right action · teleology · habituation · human flourishing
temperance
Habitual moderation in behavior
- balanceSteadiness or amount owed
- restraintControl over impulses
- self-controlAbility to restrain impulses
prudence · measure · equanimity · composure · proportion · judiciousness · reasonableness · sobriety · discipline · middle path
phi
Twenty-first Greek letter
- FibonacciPisan mathematician, numeral importer
- proportionalityScaling relationship between quantities
- sacred geometrySymbolic patterns with spiritual significance
- East Asian Culturechopsticks, yin and yang, tea ceremony, origami, qi
- Color Idiomsblack sheep, blue moon, green light, red flag, white lie
- compromisecompromise, middle ground, meet halfway, give and take, give-and-take
- moral sayingsdo unto others, do the right thing, honesty is the best policy, treat others fairly, love thy neighbor
- golden thingsaureate, karat, bullion, Midas, El Dorado
- moderationmoderation, in moderation, restraint, self-control, moderately
golden meanexcess
Surplus beyond need
extremism · immoderation · extreme · indulgence · abstinence
golden meanextremism
Ideology beyond accepted norms
radicalism · fanaticism · zealotry · absolutism · fundamentalism
golden meanimbalance
Lack of proportion
disproportion · asymmetry · disequilibrium · excess · deficiency
mean, gold, golden, goldfish, gilded, gilding, goldenrod, goldsmith, Goldilocks