HEXIS is ‘state’ or ‘disposition’. Therefore, it indicates a ‘state of mind’, a ‘disposition toward something’, a ‘tendency’ or a ‘habit’. Hence, it displays some similarities to <ethos>, which is something we need to be aware of and in control of.

In fact, the <ethos> in which we live might influence our full presence of mind (lucidity). And a thorough philosophical life needs the highest level of self-possession. The <ethos> might trigger some automatic reactions and might be dangerous because acting upon a somnolent conscience.

<Hexis> is ‘state’ or ‘disposition’, altough Joe Sachs translates it as ‘active condition‘. Anyway, he wants to specify that <hexis> is not a passive condition of the soul, such as feelings and impulses. Also, it is not an ability we possess by nature. In Categories 8b Aristoteles (Aristotle) alaborates on the word <diathesis> which means ‘disposition’. In that passage, <diathesis> only applies to passive and simple dispositions that are not difficult to remove and change. For instance, it is not difficult to change our being hot or cold. In contrast <hexis> indicates deeper and more active dispositions, like properly getting to know something in a way that it will not be easily forgotten. Another instance of <hexis> in Aristoteles is health (<hugieia>) that we could translate as ‘constitution’.

Indeed, an idea of <hexis> is the contrast with <energeia> (as meaning ‘activity’). This contrast is evident in Aristoteles. In fact the opposition is quite noticeable in his works Nicomachean Ethics and Eudemian Ethics. In these two books, the focus of the Ancient Greece philosopher is <eudaimonia> (happiness), the right target of human life. <Hexis> is contrasted with <energeia> with the aim of showing the correctness of a specific definition of <eudaimonia>. The definition which Aristoteles proposes is “activity (<energeia>) in conformity with virtue”.