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Selections from Nicomachean Ethics & Politics
No thinker has had a more profound influence on Western civilization than Aristotle. In the Middle Ages many questions were settled by appeal to his authority alone, and his position was so preeminent that he was often referred to simply as 'the philosopher'. His work represents a vast, encyclopedic treatment of virtually every field of knowledge: logic, rhetoric, ethics, politics, metaphysics, poetry, biology, zoology, physics, psychology.
The depth and clarity of his understanding are remarkable, and nowhere more so than in the Nicomachean Ethics and the Politics. Modern science may have left the ancient Greeks far behind, but modern behavior has not. The basic questions of human conduct, both for individuals and societies, remain largely unchanged; and no one has ever illuminated these more precisely, or more constructively, than Aristotle.
Aristotle (384-322bce) was born in northern Greece and studied in Athens at Plato's Academy, where he remained for many years as a teacher. He spent a short period as tutor to Alexander the Great, son of Philip II of Macedon. In 335 he returned to Athens and set up his own school, called the Lyceum.
The depth and clarity of his understanding are remarkable, and nowhere more so than in the Nicomachean Ethics and the Politics. Modern science may have left the ancient Greeks far behind, but modern behavior has not. The basic questions of human conduct, both for individuals and societies, remain largely unchanged; and no one has ever illuminated these more precisely, or more constructively, than Aristotle.
Aristotle (384-322bce) was born in northern Greece and studied in Athens at Plato's Academy, where he remained for many years as a teacher. He spent a short period as tutor to Alexander the Great, son of Philip II of Macedon. In 335 he returned to Athens and set up his own school, called the Lyceum.
344 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2004
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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