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The Complete Works of Aristotle #2
The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation, Vol. 2
Originally published in twelve volumes between 1912 and 1954, the Oxford translation of Aristotle is universally recognized as the standard English version of the great philosopher’s works. This revised edition has been fully updated in the light of modern scholarship while remaining faithful to the substance and vibrancy of the original translation. Now available in two volumes with three new translations and an enlarged selection of Fragments, The Complete Works of Aristotle makes the surviving writings of Aristotle readily accessible to a new generation of English-speaking readers.
1246 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 323
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About the author
Aristotle
4,344 books5,578 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 9, 2024
I don’t have a review for this because it’s literally Aristotle what can I say 😭
September 25, 2017
The Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2 includes: On Plants, On Marvellous Things Heard, Mechanics, Problems, On Indivisible Lines, The Situations and Names of Winds, On Melissus, Xenophanes, and Gorgias, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Magna Moralia, Eudemian Ethics, On Virtues and Vices, Politics, Economics, Rhetoric, Rhetoric to Alexander, Poetics, Constitution of Athens, and Fragments.
Before studying Aristotle, I recommend reading or having a solid idea of the Presocratic philosophers such as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Melissus, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, and Empedocles. Too include the philosophy of the Sophists such as Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias, Antiphon, and Thrasymachus. Finally, have read or an understanding of Plato and Socrates as Aristotle (the father of reason) destroys these philosopher's ideas and theories.
Before studying Aristotle, I recommend reading or having a solid idea of the Presocratic philosophers such as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Melissus, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, and Empedocles. Too include the philosophy of the Sophists such as Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias, Antiphon, and Thrasymachus. Finally, have read or an understanding of Plato and Socrates as Aristotle (the father of reason) destroys these philosopher's ideas and theories.
July 15, 2024
Aristotle, if transported to our time, would find our world an alien enigma. To ease his discomfort, I would take him to the Olympic Games. He should know that one thing hasn’t changed: we still crown champions not for being fine people, but for competing and winning.
I know he’d like this, because this was how he illustrated his point that virtue is goodness in action: “And as in the Olympic Games it is not the most beautiful and the strongest that are crowned but those who compete…so those who act rightly win the noble and good things in life.”
This second and final volume of Aristotle’s complete works is largely devoted to his writings on goodness in action, whether in the transactions of daily life or the rough-and-tumble of politics. His treatises on rhetoric and poetics, fascinating though they are in their own rights, still orbit this central question insofar as they involve the act of influencing others through communication toward virtue.
I acknowledge, of course, that Aristotle’s ideas of what virtue looks like are often different from mine. For instance, I don’t consider a woman a stunted, underdeveloped, inferior version of a man. I’m not comfortable labeling entire ethnicities as fitted by nature for slavery and, thus, for conquest.
Some of Aristotle, viewed from a distance of 2300 years, seems harsh and regressive. What we may fail to notice is that this is because Aristotle sought to bring ethics and all its children under the government of scientific reason. As a man of ancient Greece, he could only reason from the assumptions and experiences of a time and place far removed from our own.
This is more revolutionary than it may seem. Though his Metaphysics is esoteric and hard to follow, it marks an epoch in world history. By dismantling both Pythagorean mysticism and Platonic supranaturalism, Aristotle freed thought from prior constraint by Theories of Everything and their elite enforcers.
This is well illustrated by his remarkably tolerant review of the governments of various Mediterranean city-states in his Politics. Though a fairly chauvinistic Greek, his principle of seeking the good through observation and reason compelled him to seek the good even beyond his own prejudices.
It’s this very freedom, this fearlessness to reevaluate conclusions on the basis of evidence, that laid the foundations for our modern world. Though Aristotle generally disfavored democracy as prone to collapse into mob rule, he democratized ethics, morality, and politics by subjecting these to no greater authority than human reason.
This is why I think he would enjoy the modern Olympics. Once he recovered from his shock at the participation of females, he might recognize we got here partly through his own method of drawing fresh conclusions from fresh evidence. Aristotle set a trajectory that is still arcing. He would no doubt be gratified to know that despite setbacks and missteps, we haven’t given up his quest for the good.
I know he’d like this, because this was how he illustrated his point that virtue is goodness in action: “And as in the Olympic Games it is not the most beautiful and the strongest that are crowned but those who compete…so those who act rightly win the noble and good things in life.”
This second and final volume of Aristotle’s complete works is largely devoted to his writings on goodness in action, whether in the transactions of daily life or the rough-and-tumble of politics. His treatises on rhetoric and poetics, fascinating though they are in their own rights, still orbit this central question insofar as they involve the act of influencing others through communication toward virtue.
I acknowledge, of course, that Aristotle’s ideas of what virtue looks like are often different from mine. For instance, I don’t consider a woman a stunted, underdeveloped, inferior version of a man. I’m not comfortable labeling entire ethnicities as fitted by nature for slavery and, thus, for conquest.
Some of Aristotle, viewed from a distance of 2300 years, seems harsh and regressive. What we may fail to notice is that this is because Aristotle sought to bring ethics and all its children under the government of scientific reason. As a man of ancient Greece, he could only reason from the assumptions and experiences of a time and place far removed from our own.
This is more revolutionary than it may seem. Though his Metaphysics is esoteric and hard to follow, it marks an epoch in world history. By dismantling both Pythagorean mysticism and Platonic supranaturalism, Aristotle freed thought from prior constraint by Theories of Everything and their elite enforcers.
This is well illustrated by his remarkably tolerant review of the governments of various Mediterranean city-states in his Politics. Though a fairly chauvinistic Greek, his principle of seeking the good through observation and reason compelled him to seek the good even beyond his own prejudices.
It’s this very freedom, this fearlessness to reevaluate conclusions on the basis of evidence, that laid the foundations for our modern world. Though Aristotle generally disfavored democracy as prone to collapse into mob rule, he democratized ethics, morality, and politics by subjecting these to no greater authority than human reason.
This is why I think he would enjoy the modern Olympics. Once he recovered from his shock at the participation of females, he might recognize we got here partly through his own method of drawing fresh conclusions from fresh evidence. Aristotle set a trajectory that is still arcing. He would no doubt be gratified to know that despite setbacks and missteps, we haven’t given up his quest for the good.
June 30, 2022
Reading volume one was a bit like that scene in Revenge of the Sith where Anakin has his limbs amputated, but in this fan edit Obi-Wan doesn’t shout a warning. Well, I went into this with my eyes open, fully aware that Aristotle has the high ground and that some of the things in here cannot be understood by a human. For example, On Indivisible Lines is never going to make sense to me. Others are unbelievably boring. However, there’s plenty that can be read with enjoyment. This second volume has a much higher proportion of things written by others and which have been passed down under Aristotle’s name. In other words, they have been written by a person for human consumption and not in code by a computer scientist for other computer scientists.
Anyway, let’s set all this aside and try to rate this edition. What we have is essentially the standard English edition of the entire Corpus Aristotelicum – all the works passed down from the ancient world under Aristotle’s name, plus the Athenian Constitution, but not the Medieval fakes. It’s based on the 12 volume Oxford translation, with translations revised or replaced and all the notes stripped out to compress it into two volumes. I’ve seen the physical books and they’re nicely made, though probably a little large to read on the bus. Translations are modern and as readable as they probably can be. I have knocked off a star for the digital edition. There’s no need to maintain the split into two volumes, though I do see there is now a one volume digital edition. As size is not an issue I don’t see why they can’t add the notes back in. They must own the copyright and any typesetting cost could be offset by not having to pay a printer.
Anyway, let’s set all this aside and try to rate this edition. What we have is essentially the standard English edition of the entire Corpus Aristotelicum – all the works passed down from the ancient world under Aristotle’s name, plus the Athenian Constitution, but not the Medieval fakes. It’s based on the 12 volume Oxford translation, with translations revised or replaced and all the notes stripped out to compress it into two volumes. I’ve seen the physical books and they’re nicely made, though probably a little large to read on the bus. Translations are modern and as readable as they probably can be. I have knocked off a star for the digital edition. There’s no need to maintain the split into two volumes, though I do see there is now a one volume digital edition. As size is not an issue I don’t see why they can’t add the notes back in. They must own the copyright and any typesetting cost could be offset by not having to pay a printer.
April 2, 2021
Aristotle is one of the greatest philosophers of all time. A student of Plato, he set out on his own path to identify philosophical principles based in the real world instead of Plato's world of forms. In this volume I have read the Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, and Metaphysics. Each of these books provide the foundation for future philosophers while demonstrating many of the ideas for which Aristotle has come to be known, including eudaimonia - leading a flourishing life aimed at happiness; a teleological viewpoint; and the idea of movement and change anchored by a prime or "eternal" mover. These fundamental ideas provide a glimpse of the depth and breadth of Aristotle's philosophy. No one has surpassed him in the millennia that have passed since his days in ancient Greece.
January 7, 2013
Another set of philosophical classics. My Aristotle prof did his PhD in ancient philosophy, writing his diss. on Aristotle's view of math. While Aristotle is more popular today than Plato, and his thought is seeing a resurgence even in protestant circles, I think reading Aristotle is a chore, and his long winded expositions of his positions often made me want to stab my eyes with scissors. Still, gotta give the guy 5 stars purely for the influence his thought has had on the history of philosophy, and reading v. 1 & 2 (with either a companion reader or with a trained Aristotelian scholar) will provide for a necessary background in your further studies of Western thought.
July 31, 2012
I will not be giving a philosophical review of the writings of Aristotle for want of a focused topic. However, it is my belief that an understanding of Aristotle is fundamental to an understanding of our circumstances - he should, must be read. The scholar who wishes to make use of an index would do well to consult "Bonitz's Index Aristotelicus (Greek) or Organ's Index to Aristotle (English)" (2467 V2) for reasons indicated by the editor Jonathan Barnes and my own experiece using the provided index.
December 12, 2013
“I thank all those nameless scribes who copied tons of his texts and those priests who diligently translated it from Greek to Latin Its all due to you guys that the thoughts of the greatest thinker still resonates amongst us. this series has taken me approximately 5 years to shuffle through slowly so that I could absorb the thought. Its actually going to take a lifetime to really comprehend what's been meant. ”
November 3, 2009
this is very heavy dialectic. not for a feeble intellect.
August 12, 2012
This is a wonderful translation!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews