«Encontrar el punto medio / ni tú, ni yo

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• Meaning

To get to an optimum solution that satisfies both parties involved in a problem. A person «A» wants something, but «B» wants something different; the happy médium satisfies both «A» and «B».

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• Origin

In his theory about virtue, Aristotle recommends that when any given person finds themselves between two extreme situations, which he called vices, they should live according to the so-called principle of the happy medium. This happy médium is what made a person virtuous. If we consider, then, that striking is hitting upon something, we could think of this idiom as if we were about to throw a dart or an arrow and we have to hit right in the middle of the target.

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• Example

I wanted to watch the Worldcup final game, whereas my wife wished to go to visit her mother. After quarreling for a while, we stroke a happy médium; we all went to a restaurant to have lunch and I and the kids could watch the game on their big screen they have. It was awesome and everybody had a wonderful time!

 Aristóteles identifica la «virtud» (areté) con el «hábito» (héksis) de actuar según el «justo término medio» entre dos actitudes extremas, a las cuales denomina «vicios». De este modo, decimos que el hombre es virtuoso cuando su voluntad ha adquirido el «hábito» de actuar «rectamente», de acuerdo con un «justo término medio» que evite tanto el exceso como el defecto.

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