Aristotle, Teleology, and the Kalon

Abstract In the Nicomachean Ethics , Aristotle claims that virtuous actions are for the sake of the kalon . Susan Sauvé Meyer (2011) suggests that there are two distinct ways in which the kalon governs the actions that are performed for its sake. First, it determines the nature of them. She calls this ‘normative governance’. Second, it determines when, whether, and to what extent they are to be performed. She calls this ‘regulative governance’. Contra Meyer, I argue that for Aristotle, normative governance is essential to a for-the-sake-of (-the- kalon ) relation.