---
title: "Aristotelian Golden Mean: Virtue as the Mean"
description: "The Aristotelian Golden Mean asserts that virtue is the balance between excess and deficiency, a key concept for ethics in policy and governance."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/golden-mean"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Aristotelian Golden Mean is the ethical doctrine that moral virtue lies in the intermediate point between excess and deficiency, determined by practical reason.
- Is the Golden Mean the same as the mathematical average between two extremes?
- Does every action have a virtuous mean?
- How does the Golden Mean differ from utilitarian or Kantian ethics?
- Why is the Golden Mean important for the UPSC ethics paper?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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In 2013 the Union Public Service Commission introduced General Studies Paper IV on ethics, making the Aristotelian Golden Mean a recurring concept candidates apply to administrative case studies on the exercise of official discretion.

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