Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, argued some twenty-four hundred years ago that excellence and lasting happiness depend on our ability to seek out the “golden mean”—an “intermediate” position that is “equidistant from each of the extremes.” When it comes to physical pleasures such as food, wine, and sex, he taught that we should stake out a middle ground between overindulgence and abstinence. Similarly, in the face of risk, he recommended steering a judicious course between the opposing extremes of timidity and recklessness: “For the man who flies from and fears everything and does
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