Pleonexia

As pleonexia (Greek: πλεονεξία) - from Greek pleon ( more ) and echein (to have ) - two phenomena have been described since ancient philosophy: on the one hand, having more, an advantage or a larger share that a person compares to others may own. On the other hand, a morally reprehensible wanting to have more, related to greed , greed and presumption . In his Nicomachean Ethics (EN 1129a 32), Aristotle describes pleonexia as one of the three forms of injustice . The second meaning became significant for the Christian doctrine of virtue and vice through the New Testament (see also theological ethics ).

In terms of psychology, pleonexia also means that there is an urge to have an immediate say despite a lack of expertise.

The term was used by the German sociologists Ferdinand Tönnies , Arnold Gehlen, and others to criticize the “volatility” of fleeting forms of public opinion .

literature

• G. Delling, Art. Πλεονεξία. In: Theological Dictionary for the New Testament , Vol. 6, pp. 266 ff.
• Christoph Horn, Art .: Pleonexia. In: Otfried Höffe (Hrsg.): Aristoteles-Lexikon (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 459). Kröner, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-520-45901-9 , p. 465 f.
• Heinz-Otto Weber: The meaning and evaluation of pleonexia from Homer to Isocrates. Dissertation, Philosophical Faculty of the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, 1967