Aristotle's View of Anxiety

Anxiety is a very tricky condition to handle because many do not know how exactly their lives should look, or what actions should be taken or would be taken by a person who has a healthy level of anxiety. Aristotle, one of the brilliant Greek philosophers, wrote what seems to be the best theory of finding the way to live the best life. Although he did not write about anxiety in particular, he did write about shame, which has much to do with anxiety. Some readers may be asking themselves, “What practical application does this have for my life?” In the next few paragraphs, that question will be answered.

Basically, Aristotle’s view of ethics listed several virtues, or character traits which seem to be the most important for living the best life; Aristotle did not attempt to map out each and every character trait that could possibly exist, but he did give a few, and with his examples, it is possible to figure out the rest using the line of logic he provides. What Aristotle says is that for any character trait, in this case shame, there is an excess of the trait and a deficiency of the trait. In between the two is a mean, which is the desirable amount of the trait to have. For shame, he indicates that an excess of the trait is shamelessness, the mean is modesty, and the deficiency is shyness. Since this is the best fit for anxiety, it is now wise to take a look at Aristotle’s model in practice.

A person with too much anxiety has would be someone who has shyness, and many of the socially anxious and social phobics out there would fit on this end of the spectrum. Many are too scared even to ask for directions from the most harmless of persons. A person with not enough anxiety would be someone who walks up to a group of strangers at a party and begins to insult their appearance. The person is not anxious enough about his or her own safety and what may happen if he or she begins to insult these strangers. Finally, the mean, or the person who is modest, knows his or her place and the right amount of anxiety to experience in a given situation. He or she makes polite conversation when he or she feels the need, or when other circumstances dictate. He or she does not boast and take stupid risks because of not having enough anxiety. The goal of Aristotle’s view is to experience the right amount of anxiety at the right time, given the circumstances in a situation. For example, if an average person were walking down the street and saw two kindergartners in a fist fight, he or she may be slightly anxious, but this person should have a low enough amount of anxiety such that breaking up the fight is possible. To have too much anxiety and not intervene would fall into the shyness end of the spectrum. However, if the same person is walking down the street, and instead this time two ultimate fighters are fighting, this person should experience much more anxiety. To intervene would be shameless and stupid; the average person would be severely beaten. In this case, a more appropriate and modest action would be to find the nearest phone and call the police.

This is the general process to be considered when it comes to the feeling of anxiety. What the anxious need to work on is experiencing the right amount of anxiety at the right time and in the right place, and for most, if not all, this is a lifelong struggle. Unfortunately, Aristotle does not give us any hard rules about how much anxiety is appropriate in different situations (there’s an infinite number of situations that exist that could happen and so this would be practically impossible), however, he does tell us that it is possible to figure this out. And, it is, whether this is done by personal experience or with the help of a trusted friend or professional. This approach, overall, is a very solid approach and helps each person to learn that it is possible to figure out the right amount of anxiety to experience in any situation; the trick of course, is actually doing it. But, it can be done, especially with the right help in place.

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