The Nicomachean Ethics (Penguin Classics)
by Aristotlepublished
March 30th 2004
(first published 1985)
by Penguin Classics
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binding
Paperback, 400 pages
isbn
0140449493
(isbn13: 9780140449495)
description
Of Aristotle's works, few have had as lasting an influence on subsequent Western thought as The Nicomachean Ethics. In it, he argues that happi...more
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Read in January, 1998
I read this work during high school on my own and was compelled to read it in the university. Going through it the first time, I was deeply impressed by Aristotle's praise of human thought and the contemplative life. Furthermore, his claims that Ethics is a practical science are particularly illuminative, and Aristotle refuses to "loose touch" with reality. Finally, Aristotle's attempts to develop our moral principles from a series of premises is very striking and relevant to our own a...more
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recommends it for:
Anyone interested in ethics
Aristotle is pretty great. I mean, there's just no getting around that. His system of ethics, based on virtue, is one that sort of faded from popularity (or even recognition) for a long time. Recently, it's made something of a comeback, so I was curious about getting to the source of it. Overall, it's pretty much brilliant, with a few exceptions. First, the translation. They've translated eudaimonia as happiness throughout, when there really is no good English equivalent. Yes, it means ha...more
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Read in June, 2008
I'll just share one of the many pieces of wisdom I gleaned from this one. These ideas come, primarily, from Book I, Section C.
Aristotle believes that a person can become more virtuos by practing virtue. For example, the more one is humble as opposed to prideful, the more naturally humility comes to him. Virtues, by the way, are broken into intellectual and moral virtues (the above is a moral virtue).
I've heard this idea compared to a piano player: the more one practices chords, the...more
Aristotle believes that a person can become more virtuos by practing virtue. For example, the more one is humble as opposed to prideful, the more naturally humility comes to him. Virtues, by the way, are broken into intellectual and moral virtues (the above is a moral virtue).
I've heard this idea compared to a piano player: the more one practices chords, the...more
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Intellectual masterpiece is right on. I would also add that this book is a deep personal journey if your willing, so be aware. It completely changed the way I understood myself and what kind of human being I wanted to be (which is not to say it's the same person Aristotle wanted to be or thought I should be). Not often enough in life do we really get to ask ourselves what kind of person we are and what kind of people we want to be- how we each define right and wrong, real and false, etc. The tru...more
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Though Aristotle is recklessly vague on many issues ('not fat, yet fat; not good, yet good'), he has some really insightful things to say. It can be a little dry if you don't like prose (I do). Of course he says that human virtue is found in the right exercise of reason just as all the greeks do, and he has some wild things to say about societal hierarchies (in other books). Nonetheless, this book along with Plato's works form and direct much in ethics from there on. Many modern philosophers can...more
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with an approach to ethics that regards virtue/excellence as knowledge of the means between two extremes and the will to act on that knowledge (e.g., courage lies between cowardice and foolhardiness), I'm interested in getting deeper into Aristotle's ethical system as an alternative to absolutist approaches to virtue. Also, of course, interested in the extensive discussion of friendship and the types of reltionships one can cultivate (friends of utility, friends of shared interests, and friends...more
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One of the most important books I've ever read. Anyone who thinks Aristotle is extraordinarily difficult to read, check out this book. Nicomachean Ethics addresses the simple (or not so simple) question, "how should one live on this planet?" Although you probably won't agree with every assertion (I didn't), a reader can't help but grow around the astute framing of the relevant questions. I esp. love the last section on contemplation.
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Read in July, 2008
Aristotle's classic work divides opinion: Bertrand Russell gave it a withering verdict in his 'History of Western Philosophy'. As I recall, he thought it little above the ordinary. I think it a great work, if a difficult read. It is an attempt to describe 'from the inside' what it is to live the good life. Aristotle actually wrote that the work itself was part of this attempt; the Nicomachean Ethics was not meant to be mere theorising.
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Although I am not expert on this matter, I've been told by those who are that this is the best available English translation. Personally, I'm quite happy with it.
Also, I found the notes and the glossary extremely useful. The glossary is a collection of mini-essays on all the key terms in the text. The combinations of the notes and the glossary makes it significantly easier to make sense of what is an occasionally obscure text.
Also, I found the notes and the glossary extremely useful. The glossary is a collection of mini-essays on all the key terms in the text. The combinations of the notes and the glossary makes it significantly easier to make sense of what is an occasionally obscure text.
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Read in January, 1992
Aristotle writes about individual and collective virtue and happiness. Accessible and yet very powerful, it's the book by Aristotle that I find interesting enough to flip through.
(This isn't actually the edition I read, which was a technical translation that I wouldn't recommend unless you're actually studying greek philosophy, but it uses the same version of the nicomachean ethics as a source text.)
(This isn't actually the edition I read, which was a technical translation that I wouldn't recommend unless you're actually studying greek philosophy, but it uses the same version of the nicomachean ethics as a source text.)
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In Aristotle's defense, perhaps the reason I hate this book is less because the book ITSELF sucks, and more because my pretentious philosophy major friend in college told me that I could not truly understand friendship, or be friends with him, until I had read this book.
Yes, that's right. I once had a friend assign me homework.
Needless to say, we are no longer friends. (I blame Aristotle.)
Yes, that's right. I once had a friend assign me homework.
Needless to say, we are no longer friends. (I blame Aristotle.)
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This book changed my life and the way i live it. Although A has been questioned many times throughout the history of western philosophy, there is no doubt in my mind on the soundness of his arguments. This is not to say he's entirely correct about EVERYTHING, but I constantly return to his ideas on ethical practice as the gold standard in moral philosophy.
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One of those college courses, and college required readings. I believe that i didnt have to read the whole thing, I look back through it and see my notes and passages I underlined, and wow, talk about nastalgia.... Aristole had a very interesting take on life, and happiness and living than anyone else before, during, or after his time.
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Read in October, 1992
More than any other philosopher, Aristotle - with his curiousity about the world, insistence on empirical evidence, and a combination of a posteriori and a priori reasoning has shaped what we "Westerners" believe about what is real, logical, ethical, and self-evident in life. And that's mostly a good thing.
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I thought it was great until getting to a part hypothesizing eating chicken. I guess I will not finish since I have too many better ancient texts to read, including Aristotle's logic text[s,:] which neo-Platonists accept, and maybe some of his texts founding or developing natural sciences.
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
Interested in understanding foundations of our thinking
This is not a fun book to read, and the only reason I'm reading it is that I'm taking a philosophy class. Yet I'm glad I'm being forced to read it, because Aristotle is the founder of our classification-based way of thinking, and foundation for the ethical logic we use even now.
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Read in November, 2000
recommends it for:
philosophers.
Understood a way of approaching something as complicated as the theory of ethics in a comprehensible and practical way.
Both revealed my ignorance and fully shed light on the subject, and it was is amazingly modern for a book written over 2 millenia ago.
Outstanding!
Both revealed my ignorance and fully shed light on the subject, and it was is amazingly modern for a book written over 2 millenia ago.
Outstanding!
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Read in September, 2003
recommends it for:
philosophers.
The pursuit of happiness as the balance between two vices - the basic concept that too much or too little is a bad thing. This book provides a sound argument for what is perhaps an intuitive conclusion. Man seeks what is good, and in so doing, he must seek moderation.
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This one only gets four stars due to the lack of pictures. No seriously, I slogged all the way through this dry beast, and I think I got a some kind of sense for Aristotle.
On the other hand, I could have used a good guide. Undoubtedly there are things I missed.
On the other hand, I could have used a good guide. Undoubtedly there are things I missed.
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Hard not to make this a "5" but equally hard to do so since it suggests understanding the meaning of the text. Went back to this book looking for conceptual help understanding how practical judgment works. Aristotle helps with such architectural problems.
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