HAMARTIA : An error of judgement or a character flaw?
HAMARTIA : An error of judgement or a character flaw?

Summary/Abstract: What is the meaning of ἁμαρτία in Aristotle’s Poetics (1453a7-22)? It is generally interpreted either as an error of judgement or as a character flaw, although no firm conclusion has yet been reached. The principal investigative problem lies in the fact that Aristotle offers no definition of ἁμαρτία whatsoever, for in the Poetics it is merely stated that the demise of the tragic hero comes to pass neither through badness (κακία) nor villainy (μοχθηρία) of his own, but rather due to some error (δι ̓ ἁμαρτίαν τινά). In order to overcome the interpretative limitations imposed upon us by the lack of relevant textual evidence in the Poetics, we intend to analyse Aristotle’s use of the cognate word ἁμάρτημα in the Rhetoric as well as the Nicomachean Ethics, and thereby construct an exhaustive definition of ἁμαρτία itself. Ultimately, it shall be demonstrated that ἁμαρτία is indeed an error of judgement.

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