The object of a wish is, in the unqualified sense, the good, but for each person it is the apparent good. Intention is a deliberate desire of things which are in our power to bring about. The object of deliberation is the same as that of intention, but the object of intention is the specific reason for which a person acts. Thus not all inquiry is deliberation, but all deliberation is a type of inquiry. We deliberate about means, not about ends deliberation occurs after an end has been posited and it is necessary to determine the means by which to achieve it. We deliberate about things which are possible, which have an unclear outcome and in which there is something indeterminate. People don't deliberate about matters over which they have no control, but rather about things which they themselves can do.

It is something previously deliberated upon, and is formed with reason or thought. Intention is not a desire, a wish or an opinion. Intention is not the same as volition, because non-rational beings can act with volition but not with intention. Intention is crucial for virtuous actions and for judgment of character. An action performed through temper or desire is still voluntary. But if he does not regret the action, it cannot be considered completely involuntary even if he did it in ignorance we will therefore call it 'nonvoluntary.'Ī voluntary action is one in which the agent of the action knows the particulars on which the action depends. If the person regrets the action which he did in ignorance, it was involuntary. For an action to be involuntary, there must be some external principle causing the action and the person must not contribute anything to the action.Īn action done through ignorance is not necessarily involuntary. An action done through fear or for the sake of some noble deed is more voluntary than involuntary, although they are mixed. An involuntary action is something done by force or through ignorance.

Since only voluntary actions can be considered virtuous, it is necessary to examine what it means for an action to be voluntary.

Aristotle nichomachean