Aristotle, Emotions, and Discipleship

Aristotle, in his “Nicomachean Ethics” (1104b), states (roughly) that “we ought to have been brought up in a particular way from our very youth, as Plato says, so as both to delight in and to be pained by the things that we ought; for this is the right education.” C.S. Lewis, in “The Abolition of Man,” interprets this to teach that “the aim of education is to make the pupil like and dislike what he ought.” The basic thought is that education, or the training up of a youth, consists primarily in teaching the young one to like that which he should like and hate that which he should hate.

This plays itself out in almost every home with a child under the age of 3. When a child is torturing the family dog, the parents (through tone of voice and possible physical action) emphatically try to communicate to the child that they should feel bad about what they are doing. When a child is being sweet and gentle to the family baby, the parents (again through tone of voice and body language and possibly rewards) try to communicate that the child should feel good about what they are doing. The goal in all of this is to develop “correct emotions” in the heart of a child/youth as they grow up. As another example, the reaction to the direct disobedience of a child is one of disappointment and anger, while the reaction to obedience is one of happiness and reward.

It intrigues me to think about this view of teaching/training alongside the thought/command of discipleship. In many ways, I see discipleship and Christian maturity as a teaching and growing into “correct emotions.” Whereas my fallen heart would rejoice in evil and shy away from good, I am slowly being transformed into a person that correctly hates evil and rejoices in good. Thus, one of the main goals of sermons, community, and prayer would be to develop in our people a heart that rejoices in justice, beauty, grace, and forgiveness- as well as hearts that cringe at arrogance and injustice.

What are your thoughts? Please comment and share!!