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  • POLSC201: Introduction to Western Political Thought
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  • The Preconditions of Virtue: Voluntary vs. Involuntary Action
    Course Introduction
    Course Syllabus
    Course Terms of Use
    Unit 1: The Polis
    1.1: The Just and the Unjust
    Plato's Republic: Books I and II
    Philosophers and Kings: Plato's Republic I-II
    1.2: The Ideal City
    Plato's Republic: Books III and IV
    Philosophers and Kings: Plato's Republic III-IV
    Discussion: Plato's Republic
    1.3: The Philosopher-King
    Plato's Republic: Book V
    Philosophers and Kings: Plato's Republic V
    Quickfire Quiz: The Republic
    1.4: The Socratic Method
    Plato's Apology
    Socratic Citizenship: Plato's Apology
    Plato's Republic: Book X
    Poetry and Philosophy
    The Socratic Method Discussion
    1.5: The Ideal Citizen and the Ideal State
    Plato's Crito
    The Antagonism between Personal and Public Virtue
    Socratic Citizenship: Plato's Crito
    Quickfire Quiz: Crito
    1.6: The Good Life: Virtue and Happiness
    Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book I
    The Good Life: Virtue and Well-Being
    Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book II
    The Doctrine of the Mean
    Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book III
    The Preconditions of Virtue: Voluntary vs. Involuntary Action
    Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Books IV-V
    Justice as a Virtue
    Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book VI
    Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book X
    Practical Reason and Politics
    Discussion: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
    Quickfire Quiz: Nicomachean Ethics
    1.7: Rule of Law
    Aristotle's Politics
    The Mixed Regime and the Rule of Law: Aristotle's Politics I-III
    The Mixed Regime and the Rule of Law: Aristotle's Politics IV
    Distributive Justice as the Task of the Polis
    The Primacy of Law
    Discussion: Aristotle's Politics
    Unit 1 Assessment
    Unit 1 Assessment
    Unit 2: Modern Political Thought
    2.1: Timing and Cunning in Politics
    Nicolò Machiavelli's The Prince
    New Modes and Orders: Machiavelli's The Prince, Chapters 1-12
    Discussion: Machiavelli Today
    The Significance of Mercenaries
    Quickfire Quiz: The Prince
    2.2: Sovereignty
    Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan
    The Sovereign State: Hobbes' Leviathan I
    The Sovereign State: Hobbes' Leviathan II-III
    Quickfire Quiz: Leviathan
    2.3: Constitutional Government
    John Locke's Second Treatise of Government
    Constitutional Government: Locke's Second Treatise 1-5
    Constitutional Government: Locke's Second Treatise 7-12
    Constitutional Government: Locke's Second Treatise 13-19
    Discussion: Locke's Second Treatise
    Essay: Perspectives on the Modern State
    Quickfire Quiz: Second Treatise of Civil Government
    Unit 2 Assessment
    Unit 2 Assessment
    Unit 3: Liberal Democracy and Its Critics
    3.1: Discourse on Inequality
    Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Discourse on Inequality
    Democracy and Participation: Rousseau's Discourse I
    Democracy and Participation: Rousseau's Discourse II
    Discussion: Rousseau Today
    Quickfire Quiz: Discourse on Inequality
    3.2: Democratic Participation
    Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract
    Essay: The Founding Fathers and Enlightenment Thought
    Democracy and Participation: Rousseau's Social Contract I-II
    Quickfire Quiz: Approaches to the Social Contract
    3.3: Democratic Statecraft
    Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America
    Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville's Democracy in America I
    Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville's Democracy in America II
    Quickfire Quiz: Democracy in America
    3.4: Karl Marx as an Enlightenment Thinker
    David Riazanov's Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: An Introduction to Their Lives and Work: Chapter II
    Karl Marx (1818–1883)
    Karl Marx's On the Jewish Question
    Marx and the Enlightenment
    Karl Marx's A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy: Preface
    Karl Marx's Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy: Part I: The Commodity
    Karl Marx's Capital: Chapter 14: Counteracting Influences
    Karl Marx's Critique of the Gotha Program
    Marxian Exploitation and Distributive Justice
    Analytical Marxism: Self-Ownership and Distributive Justice
    The Marxian Failure and Legacy
    Discussion: Marx and Communism
    3.5: The Boundaries of Civil Liberties
    John Stuart Mill's Immortal Case for Toleration
    Mill: Utilitarianism and Liberty
    John Stuart Mill's On Liberty
    John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism
    The Neoclassical Synthesis of Rights and Utility
    Limits of the Neoclassical Synthesis
    Perfectionism in Mill's On Liberty
    Quickfire Quiz: Utilitarianism and On Liberty
    Unit 3 Assessment
    Unit 3 Assessment
    Study Guide
    POLSC201 Study Guide
    Course Feedback Survey
    Course Feedback Survey
    Certificate Final Exam
    POLSC201: Certificate Final Exam
    Saylor Direct Credit
    Archived Materials
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  1. POLSC201: Introduction to Western Political Thought
  2. Unit 1: The Polis
  3. 1.6: The Good Life: Virtue and Happiness
  4. The Preconditions of Virtue: Voluntary vs. Involuntary Action

The Preconditions of Virtue: Voluntary vs. Involuntary Action

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Read this article, which provides context for Aristotle's ideas concerning the preconditions of virtue and other related concepts.

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Saylor Academy © 2010-2025 except as otherwise noted. Excluding course final exams, content authored by Saylor Academy is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Third-party materials are the copyright of their respective owners and shared under various licenses. See detailed licensing information. Saylor Academy®, Saylor.org®, and Harnessing Technology to Make Education Free® are trade names of the Constitution Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization through which our educational activities are conducted.