Aristotle defined habit as aptitude for change plus preservation of modification

Evidence

For Aristotle, habit implies the aptitude for change, along with the possibility of preserving the modifications inherent in such change. As the Eudemian Ethics explains, if we throw a stone many times in the same direction, it will not keep a single trace of each alteration of place: ‘The body remains always the same with reference to this motion, even if it has been marked on it one hundred times.’ — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 494 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

‘Adaptation’ is the proper term for this process of development and actualization. In this context it is easy to see why habit can be defined as a general phenomenon of biological and even physical adaptation, consisting in the fact that a being, once it has experienced for the first time some kind of modification, will preserve that modification so that even if the action is repeated or continued, there will be no additional modification like the first one. — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 502 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Habit is the preservation of a first modification without repetition of the modification — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel: Plasticity,…, 502; Habit unites change with the preservation of its modifications. — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel: Plasticity,…, 494

Broader Connections

• Habit is the preservation of a first modification without repetition of the modification #expands (0.90) — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 502
• Habit unites change with the preservation of its modifications. #corroborates (0.90) — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 494