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Selected Writings: Selections from Nicomachean Ethics and Politics
Selected and with an introduction by Hugh Griffith.
344 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2009
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About the author
Aristotle
4,335 books5,597 followersAristotle (Greek: Αριστοτέλης; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. As the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy in the Lyceum in Athens, he began the wider Aristotelian tradition that followed, which set the groundwork for the development of modern science.
Little is known about Aristotle's life. He was born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece during the Classical period. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, and he was brought up by a guardian. At 17 or 18, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of 37 (c. 347 BC). Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored his son Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC. He established a library in the Lyceum, which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books on papyrus scrolls.
Though Aristotle wrote many treatises and dialogues for publication, only around a third of his original output has survived, none of it intended for publication. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. His teachings and methods of inquiry have had a significant impact across the world, and remain a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.
Aristotle's views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. The influence of his physical science extended from late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, and was not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics were developed. He influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church.
Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as "The First Teacher", and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply "The Philosopher", while the poet Dante Alighieri called him "the master of those who know". His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and were studied by medieval scholars such as Pierre Abélard and Jean Buridan. Aristotle's influence on logic continued well into the 19th century. In addition, his ethics, although always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics.
Little is known about Aristotle's life. He was born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece during the Classical period. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, and he was brought up by a guardian. At 17 or 18, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of 37 (c. 347 BC). Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored his son Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC. He established a library in the Lyceum, which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books on papyrus scrolls.
Though Aristotle wrote many treatises and dialogues for publication, only around a third of his original output has survived, none of it intended for publication. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. His teachings and methods of inquiry have had a significant impact across the world, and remain a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.
Aristotle's views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. The influence of his physical science extended from late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, and was not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics were developed. He influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church.
Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as "The First Teacher", and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply "The Philosopher", while the poet Dante Alighieri called him "the master of those who know". His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and were studied by medieval scholars such as Pierre Abélard and Jean Buridan. Aristotle's influence on logic continued well into the 19th century. In addition, his ethics, although always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 22, 2012
Ethics
I've been meaning to read this since high school. Obviously, it was too dense for me at that time. And even now it was difficult. It is definitely better suited for study in college with guidance of a professor than as an evening read. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the challenge. At first, I trie to take notes, but that slowed me down far too much to my liking. So I just read and gleaned what I could. I'll only make one comment on the content. There is no doubt that behaving "ethically" is all about self-control. And here I look around at society and realize we have almost none. A man's word is rarely good anymore; everyone seems to spill their feelings and thoughts regardless of consequences. It is seldom one meets anyone whose central goal is to be a "good" person. Yet… Aristotle complained of the same thing.
Politics
How can I write on such a book, or any work of philosophy in such a small space? Philosophy, political philosophy being no exception is quite dense. This is especially true when the work is supposed to be a summary of an entire field. Aristotle here gives his view of first the nature of society, man in society, the proper end of a society ("end" or "purpose" being his primary concern in all his teaching), and thus the means to achieve. He of course could only take what the world had seen up to that point. His analysis of the types of government (monarchy/tyranny; aristocracy/oligarchy; polity/democracy) is stil poignant and accurate today, though when reading, it is important to pay attention to his definition of these forms as they are different from their modern, common ones in some key aspects. The biggest flow of his analysis, is of course, the belief on who should be citizens and thus participants in government, as it follows from a belief that there are those born to rule and those born to be subject, and that the working class can not obtain virtue. Then again, he was born before Christ.
I've been meaning to read this since high school. Obviously, it was too dense for me at that time. And even now it was difficult. It is definitely better suited for study in college with guidance of a professor than as an evening read. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the challenge. At first, I trie to take notes, but that slowed me down far too much to my liking. So I just read and gleaned what I could. I'll only make one comment on the content. There is no doubt that behaving "ethically" is all about self-control. And here I look around at society and realize we have almost none. A man's word is rarely good anymore; everyone seems to spill their feelings and thoughts regardless of consequences. It is seldom one meets anyone whose central goal is to be a "good" person. Yet… Aristotle complained of the same thing.
Politics
How can I write on such a book, or any work of philosophy in such a small space? Philosophy, political philosophy being no exception is quite dense. This is especially true when the work is supposed to be a summary of an entire field. Aristotle here gives his view of first the nature of society, man in society, the proper end of a society ("end" or "purpose" being his primary concern in all his teaching), and thus the means to achieve. He of course could only take what the world had seen up to that point. His analysis of the types of government (monarchy/tyranny; aristocracy/oligarchy; polity/democracy) is stil poignant and accurate today, though when reading, it is important to pay attention to his definition of these forms as they are different from their modern, common ones in some key aspects. The biggest flow of his analysis, is of course, the belief on who should be citizens and thus participants in government, as it follows from a belief that there are those born to rule and those born to be subject, and that the working class can not obtain virtue. Then again, he was born before Christ.
September 23, 2009
Realmente abordé los libros I y VI de la ética. Propone puntos bastante interesantes con respecto a la verdad, la prudencia y el alcance de la felicidad. Lo que nos invita en el fondo Aristóteles es a encontrar el sentido último de nuestra existencia basada en lo que es mejor para ella (entendiendo como "el bien" aquello que debe ser buscado), pues nuestra vida, tan corta en su extensión, le es difícil poder deliberar a través de la recta razón y poder encontrar la verdad en toda su plenitud.
February 23, 2010
pss ´para filosofia
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews