Tracing Classical Roots of Assertiveness: The Aristotelian Virtue

This chapter traces the conceptual origins of assertiveness back to the Aristotelian notion of virtue: a purposive disposition, mid-point between two vices, determined by the right reason. First, it defines common and technical uses of assertiveness. Second, it justifies using Aristotle’s notion of virtue to better understand its conceptual complexity and practical training. Third, it analyses Aristotelian origins in each of the contemporary senses addressed by Peneva and Mavrodiev’s study A Historical Approach to Assertiveness: (1) as a method to diagnose and control mental illnesses, (2) as a mean of self-advocacy, (3) as a way of achieving human flourishing and, finally, (4) assertiveness as a social and professional skill. The author claims that these historical perspectives are rooted in the same moral classical principle: a virtuous disposition as understood in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (NE), Politics (P) and Rhetoric (Rh).