--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Moral experience—the actual possession…" description: "\"“Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise of good character—is necessary truly to understand moral principles and profitably to apply them.”..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/aristotle-78_character_moral-experience-the-actual-possession-a_288069.png" --- # Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise of… ![“Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise of good character—is necessary truly to understand moral principles and profitably to apply them.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/aristotle-78_character_moral-experience-the-actual-possession-a_288069.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/aristotle-78_character_moral-experience-the-actual-possession-a_288069.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/aristotle-78_character_moral-experience-the-actual-possession-a_288069.png) > ““Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise of good character—is necessary truly to understand moral principles and profitably to apply them.”” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral character is built through practicing virtue, which is essential to truly grasp and apply moral rules. **In simple terms:** Good character is learned by doing good deeds. Key Takeaway Cultivate virtue through action. Themes ethics character learning Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - leadership - personal development - decision making Key Concepts philosophy virtue ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you practice virtue daily? - When does moral knowledge conflict with personal desire? A Different Perspective Virtue alone may not guarantee correct judgment in complex situations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Moral principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-principles/) ## Related quotes > [How can our kids really understand the moral complexities of being alive if they are not allowed to engage in those complexities outdoors?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/how-can-our-kids-really-understand-the-moral-complexities-of-being/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [“Can forgivenes for the crimes done to a child be not just ineffective but actively harmful? It certainly can because the body does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/can-forgivenes-for-the-crimes-done-to-a-child-be-not-just-ineffective/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [I am convinced that the majority of American people do understand that we have a moral responsibility to foster the concepts of opportunity, free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lugar/i-am-convinced-that-the-majority-of-american-people-do-understand/) [Richard Lugar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lugar/) > [Girls must understand not only their moral obligation but their power to be allies to each other at parties and other potentially unsafe spaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simmons/girls-must-understand-not-only-their-moral-obligation-but-their-power/) [Rachel Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simmons/) > [I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/i-do-not-pretend-to-understand-the-moral-universe-the-arc-is-a-long-2/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [“Man is made of dirt - I saw him made. I am not made of dirt. Man is a museum of diseases, a home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-made-of-dirt-i-saw-him-made-i-am-not-made-of-dirt-man-is-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one. . . . But from what I see I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/i-do-not-pretend-to-understand-the-moral-universe-the-arc-is-a-long/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [“This wariness of authority reflected the most fundamental of all of Einstein’s moral principles: Freedom and individualism are necessary for creativity and imagination to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/this-wariness-of-authority-reflected-the-most-fundamental-of-all-of/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [The standard that a society should actually embody its own professed principles is a utopian one, in the sense that moral principles contradict the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-standard-that-a-society-should-actually-embody-its-own-professed/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [It is fairly easy to grasp abstract moral principles; it can be very difficult to apply them to a given situation, particularly when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-is-fairly-easy-to-grasp-abstract-moral-principles-it-can-be-very/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Sound moral principle is the only sure evidence of strength, the only firm foundation of greatness and perpetuity. Where this is lacking, no man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-f-whitney/sound-moral-principle-is-the-only-sure-evidence-of-strength-the-only/) [Orson F. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-f-whitney/) > [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Some level of truthfulness has always been seen as essential to human society, no matter how deficient the observance of other moral principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissela-bok/some-level-of-truthfulness-has-always-been-seen-as-essential-to-human/) [Sissela Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissela-bok/) > [“The plot, then, is the first principle, and, as it were, the soul of a tragedy; Character holds the second place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-plot-then-is-the-first-principle-and-as-it-were-the-soul-of-a/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Being a moral realist I see normative ethics as a search of the truth about our obligations and a search of explanation; the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/being-a-moral-realist-i-see-normative-ethics-as-a-search-of-the-truth/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise of good character—is necessary truly to understand moral principles and profitably to apply them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/moral-experience-the-actual-possession-and-exercise-of-good-character/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/moral-experience-the-actual-possession-and-exercise-of-good-character/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/aristotle-78_character_moral-experience-the-actual-possession-a_288069.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/aristotle-78_character_moral-experience-the-actual-possession-a_288069.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/aristotle-78_character_moral-experience-the-actual-possession-a_288069.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise of good character—is necessary truly to understand moral…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aristotle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/moral-experience-the-actual-possession-and-exercise-of-good-character/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/moral-experience-the-actual-possession-and-exercise-of-good-character/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```