A Philosophical Commentary on the <i>Politics</i> of Aristotle

by Peter L. Phillips Simpson

The Politics , Aristotle's classic work on the nature of political community, has been a touchstone of Western debates about society and government. In this volume, Peter Simpson presents a complete philosophical commentary on the Politics , an analysis of the logical structure of the entire text and each of its constitutive arguments and conclusions. Unlike other contemporary works on the Politics , Simpson's philosophical commentary is not, save incidentally, a discussion of philological and historical questions, a speculative elaboration of Aristotle's arguments, or a comparison of the philosopher's ideas with those of other ancient and modern theorists. Such treatments, argues Simpson, must be grounded in a thorough understanding of the philosophical content of the work--a point that underscores the need for this thorough and accurate analysis. Keyed to the ancient Greek text as well as to Simpson's own innovative translation of it (UNC Press, 1997), this book will stand as a valuable commentary on the philosophical argument in the Politics and will serve as a sound basis for future study of Aristotle's political thought.

<!-- copy for pb

"A 'must read' for scholars of the Politics .-- Choice

"The entire edition is marked by a dashing boldness of judgment, and by confidence of tone and argumentation.-- Polis

"The commentary has many attractive features for the reader of Aristotle. All Greek is transliterated, and Bekker numbers are provided for easy cross-reference. Not least, it is written in clear and accessible prose. No reader of Aristotle's Politics can ignore this important work.-- Classical World

The Politics , Aristotle's classic work on the nature of political community, has been a touchstone of Western debates about society and government. Here, Peter Simpson presents a thorough analysis of the logical structure of the entire text and each of its constitutive arguments and conclusions. A valuable commentary on the philosophical argument in the Politics , the book will also serve as a sound basis for future study of Aristotle's political thought. -->

Genres: Philosophy

512 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 1998

Reviews

[Christopher Hurtado]

A Philosophical Commentary on the Politics of Aristotle by Peter L. Phillips Simpson (2002)

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unlike academic leeches who waste paper in order to climb the rungs of the Academic ladder so they could take more from the money collected by the State from the poor and the working people, Simpson is different. He knows Aristotle personally. He had unprecedented access to the private documents of Aristotle. And, now, one year after Aristotle's death he is ready to share his true knowledge with the World. Hence Simpson is a great man, and you, dear reader, would have to pay more taxes in order for him to hire more nephews and nieces.

[Lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

full disclosure I read this for a class and DNF’ed if once I read the first six books because I quite frankly ran out of time and did not have the energy to read the whole dang thing on my own. Aristotle provides his view on a moderate society and his evidence for why he believes so in a clear, logical way and advocates for education for all. And then also hits ya with the whole “women don’t have souls” bit.

[Sydney Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read if for my political science class… meh.