Importance of Choice

I disagree with Aristotle's idea that a person's desires must be congruent to their reason in order for them to be truly virtuous. He says that desires are formed by habits, which are formed by how your parents raised you. So according to his ethical system, a person's ability to be virtuous is entirely dependent upon their parents.

This denies the possibility of choice, which I reject on the most visceral level. A person's childhood has an undeniable effect on their adult self, but no matter what environmental factors, or parental actions influenced a person's development, there is always, ultimately, a choice involved in every decision they make. This includes the choice to be virtuous. Therefore, while circumstances can alter the level of responsibility for a decision, they can never remove it completely. A person is ultimately responsible for themselves and every decision they make, no matter how terrific of terrible their childhood was.