Virtue lies between deficiency and excess, and the right point differs by person and circumstance.
Aristotle's doctrine, and the frequently missed part: the mean is relative to the person and situation, not a midpoint on a scale. Courage for a soldier and for a civilian sit at different points.
In practice
- The mean is relative: courage in a firefighter and in an accountant sit at different points, and neither is a midpoint on a scale.
- A manager's right level of oversight for a new starter is intrusive for a veteran, and the same figure is both deficiency and excess.