Aristotle's First Principles

by Terence Irwin

Exploring Aristotle's philosophical method and the merits of his conclusions, Irwin here shows how Aristotle defended dialectic against the objection that it cannot justify a metaphysical realist's claims. He focuses particularly on Aristotle's metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics, stressing the connections between doctrines that are often discussed separately.

Genres: Philosophy

720 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Terence Irwin is a scholar and philosopher specializing in ancient Greek philosophy and the history of ethics (i.e. the history of Western moral philosophy in ancient, medieval, and modern times).

Since 2007, he has been the Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Oxford, and Fellow of Keble College, Oxford. From 1975 until 2007, he was at Cornell University, where he has been Susan Linn Sage Professor of Philosophy and Humane Letters (from 1995), Professor of Classics (from 1992), and Professor of Philosophy (from 1982). Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University (1972-1975). He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.