Aristotle's Virtues:

Vice of Excess: Rashness
the Virtuous Mean: Courage
Vice of Deficiency: Cowardice

I'm just confused.
Would the "Vice of Deficiency" mean the deficiency of the virtuous mean? Meaning is cowardice the deficiency of courage??

OR does the "vice of Deficiency" mean the deficiency of cowardice, meaning that you have too little cowardice.

So I'm confused between does the Vice of Deficiency mean that "you have too little cowardice" OR you have a deficiency of courage which is cowardice?

http://www.gradesaver.com/aristotles-ethics/study-guide/section2/

Read carefully and let us know what you decide.

I thought cowardice would be the deficiency of courage and not the "vice of deficiency" being the deficiency of cowardice.

I just confused if in generally the vice of deficiency means the "definicency of the mean" or the deficiency of what is stated.

I'm just confused if in generally the vice of deficiency means the "definicency of the mean" OR the deficiency of what is stated.

In Aristotle's ethical theory, the vice of deficiency means having too little of a particular virtue, while the vice of excess means having too much. In this case, the virtue in question is courage.

So, the vice of deficiency is cowardice. It means lacking the appropriate amount of courage. If someone exhibits cowardice, they would be considered to have a deficiency of courage.

On the other hand, the vice of excess in this situation is rashness. It refers to a person having an excessive amount of courage, such that they act recklessly and without proper judgment.

To summarize, in Aristotle's ethical framework, the "vice of deficiency" means lacking the appropriate amount of a virtue, while the "virtuous mean" represents the ideal amount of that virtue, and the "vice of excess" refers to having too much of that virtue to the point where it becomes excessive or extreme.