Mistakes in Seneca's doctrine of moderation

Despite its benefits, there is a crucial flaw in the doctrine of moderation proposed by Seneca. The problem is not new in the history of philosophy. Four centuries earlier, Aristotle (384-322 BC) had committed the same error when he came up with the doctrine of the golden mean.I blame the flaw on the philosophers’ desire to give complex advice. Aristotle had defined virtue as a middle point or golden mean between two vices. Seneca had exacerbated the error by elevating moderation to a virtue in itself.What is the problem with the golden mean and moderation? The problem with those two doctrines is that they fail to define virtue in a direct manner.Aristotle viewed generosity as a virtue, but had defined it as the golden mean between avarice and reckless expenditures. It is an ingenious definition, but there is no incontestable way to establish how generous we should be in each case.Seneca is even worse because he called for moderation in all areas of life, just for the sake of moderation. If we apply his doctrine consistently, we will make poor choices.I think that Aristotle and Seneca had promoted their ideas of the golden mean and moderation precisely because those ideas are very complex. They require endless explanations from their originators, that is, from Aristotle and Seneca themselves.In his works “Nicomachean Ethics” and “Eudemian Ethics,” Aristotle gave numerous examples of his golden mean doctrine and virtue definitions, but I’ve never seen anyone employ them in real life. They are just too convoluted.Concerning the doctrine of moderation, Seneca gave dozens of examples in his Letters to Lucilius, but his examples are as convoluted as those given by Aristotle.I am referring for instance to the 83rd Letter to Lucilius. This Letter contains Seneca’s exhortation to “eat only for the sake of maintaining one’s health, but not for the sake of enjoyment.”Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/mistakes-in-senecas-doctrine-of-moderation/