The Ego Trick (baggini, Julian) / quote 201 of 254
Avoid tempting situations
Our knowledge of situationism should be used to build character more wisely, not to give up on it. For example, John Doris takes as one lesson the idea that we should avoid tempting situations rather than rely on character to enable us to resist temptation. The father of virtue ethics, Aristotle, agreed. He advised against getting drunk, for instance, for precisely the reason that we cannot rely on our inherent goodness to stop us from behaving badly if we’re intoxicated. Likewise, a faithful spouse should avoid getting into situations that might tempt them into infidelity. To become the kind of person who avoids drunkenness or temptations of infidelity is precisely to develop virtuous character traits. Being of good character requires self-monitoring and sensitivity to context, not just relying on automatic behaviours.