Golden mean

Etymology

The idea is Aristotle’s “mesotes” from the “Nicomachean Ethics,” though the Latin tag “aurea mediocritas” (“golden mean”) comes from the poet Horace. “Mean” here is the mathematical middle, from Latin “medianus.” It is not a bland average but the right amount for the situation.

noun phrase · /GOHL-dun meen/
The idea that virtue lies in a balanced midpoint between two extremes of excess and deficiency.
What it names
The ethical target of moderation — courage between cowardice and recklessness, generosity between stinginess and waste.
Example
Aristotle would call proper ambition the golden mean between sloth and grasping careerism.
Related idea
The golden mean seeks the virtuous midpoint; the false dichotomy errs the opposite way by pretending only two extremes exist, and temperance is one specific virtue of restraint rather than the general principle.