Coffee with Aristotle

Coffee with...

by Jonathan Barnes, Julian Barnes (Foreword)

Not many people can claim to have invented a new science, but the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle invented two—zoology and logic. Today, we are still influenced by Aristotelian thought. When we use words such as "potential" and "actual," "theory" and "practice," we are speaking Aristotle's language. Talking to him, however, you'll realize that some of his ideas have crossed the centuries more successfully than others...

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Jonathan Barnes, FBA (born 26 December 1942 in Wenlock, Shropshire) is an English scholar of ancient philosophy.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

See also Jonathan Barnes or Jonathan Barnes

Reviews

[Azar · Rating 4 out of 5]

به نظرم کتاب بامزه ای بود. نظریات ارسطو را به زبان خیلی ساده بیان می کند و ارسطو درباره هر آنچه در ذهن فرد مقابل است توضیح می دهد.

[Wes Bishop]

Not a bad little book. It is very short and is easy to get through in a few hours. Anyone who already knows something about Aristotle and his ideas will not find anything new to discover. But it is a good book for someone just starting to learn about the ancient Greek thinker.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amusing and short introduction to Aristotle's ideas written by Jonathan Barnes who taught philosophy at the universities of Oxford, Geneva, and Paris. As with other books in this series, the conceit is that the modern author is sitting down with the subject of the book for a casual chat over coffee about the subject's ideas. The Aristotle Barnes creates could easily be a character out of Monty Python. Of course, since many of the members of Monty Python attended Oxford, this may be a chicken-and-egg question.

[Ely · Rating 5 out of 5]

well despite of many people have said that this book is not as charming as it is. I found it quite understanding and cool! Why not? Aristotle explain errthing and whatever it is on his mind and never care about anything else. I think it’s quite wonderful, because most of the time people only show of what the world want it to see (means being fake or anything). But he didn’t. This book clearly open my eyes ☺️☺️

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johnathan Barnes attempts to distill most of Aritstotle into a 'conversation' with the Greek philosopher. If you know nothing of the Greek philosopher, you will know something after reading this. This series from Duncan Baird Publishing in the UK uses this idea for other Famous thinkers and artists.

Its a bit twee, tbh. Actually makes me want to thumb through my copy of the Nicomachean Ethics. Not a bad thing.

[Jericho Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like Aristotle can be quite the asshole. I would say that this is a fun way to be introduced to Aristotle and his works, ancient philosophy isn't everyone's cup of tea but I think this is nonetheless, a great way to start.

[Destiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice brief overview of the works of Aristotle. This fictional interview was well written and the words dissolved into what seemed like I was listening to an actual interview. A must read for anyone remotely interested in Aristotle.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather certain Aristotle and I wouldn't have gotten along. However, it was fun to read what he might have said based on an experts knowledge of him.

[Wen-wei Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very concise book that summarised the thoughts of Aristotle in a dialogue format that is easier to digest for busy person like me.

[Michael Vick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Share's Aristotle's thoughts and ideas in a conversational and concise way. Quick read

[S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I first saw this book, I thought it could help me reconcile with Aristotle again, I expected deep insights considering his "philosophy" but it turned out that it's just some unreal interview with Aristotle about everything and nothing...It was about slavery, zoology, poetry (that I misunderstood and misinterpreted as Poesis, and got a bit overwhelmed),Ethics, Soul, Female of the species,... some little biography of Aristotle, even a glimpse at the life of Alexander.... But this wasn't what I've expected ! I declare this book as a cute biography of Aristotle but not an abstract of his philosophy !

[John Reis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short book I bought about 12 years ago. I was probably looking for some lunch reading. It is a light dip into Aristotle from someone who has devoted a career to translating his works. I buy Introductory books a lot in order to look at ways to introduce topics to others. This was not substantial, but it was fair.

[Tom Sutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise summary of Aristotle's philosophy. Even though it is presented as a dialogue, it falls short of imitating the round-about yet razor sharp reasoning style of Aristotle the man, as you might find in a translated work. Good for novices, as a pocket book.

[Mark Knapke]

A simple way to make a this kind of subject accessible. All of Aristotle's extant works are basically lecture notes. This book give him a face, so to speak.

[Rob Brantseg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun overview of Aristotle on a variety of subjects.

[Sadiq Kazi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the philosopher and father of 'logic'.

[Tyler Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a nice, well written, and neatly put together. Allows you to be in the mind of a great thinker without having to read the philosophy itself.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short. Hilarious.

[Aranya Iyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book----iffy about the man and his views.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun.