Introductory Readings

by Aristotle

Drawn from the translations and editorial aids of Irwin and Fine's Aristotle, Selections (Hackett Publishing Co., 1995), this anthology will be most useful to instructors who must try to do justice to Aristotle in a semester-long ancient-philosophy survey, but it will also be appropriate for a variety of introductory-level courses. Introductory Readings provides accurate, readable, and integrated translations that allow the reader to follow Aristotle's use of crucial technical terms and to grasp the details of his argument. Included are adaptations of the glossary and notes that helped make its parent volume a singularly useful aid to the study of Aristotle.

Genres: Philosophy, Classics, Nonfiction, College, Academic, Politics, School

380 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1996

About the author

Aristotle (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.

Reviews

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

27th time's a charm...

[Alex Obrigewitsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title states, this collection of snippets from Aristotle's great oeuvre is a fair introduction to the many areas of thought in which he traversed.
It works to wet one's taste and find out which of Aristotle's works they should read in full (which is necessary for any philosophical work).
Look at it like a signpost for choosing which path to travel down first.

[Al]

I am no closer to understanding metaphysics but I do feel aquatinted with Aristotle

[Joe Gurba · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful struggle.

[sichen li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Aristotle right after reading Plato takes some getting used to! But it is elegant in its own way.

Things I liked:

- Posterior Analytics! And the neatness of syllogisms... until you get to the origin of primary premises or first principles.
- Categories: the things being in other things (substances) or of other things is pretty cool. This one was tricky to read though.

Things I found more questionable and brow-furrowing:

- INCONTINENCE (particularly 1147a32-b4).
- Coincidences and luck, from Physics: I'm not sure I agree with the idea that things that always (so far as we know it) come to pass the same way cannot be by chance!
- That we are responsible for our states of character and thus vice and virtue! It just gets circular, and unpredictable (even he admits it, at 1115a).

Wrote a paper on the Nicomachean Ethics. I probably won't do it again, but I will remember it fondly.

[Hippie Shawn]

I needed to read this for University. I didn't get through all if it (but jumped around), although I found parts very intruging. This is a good place to start if you're getting into Aristotle for sure.

[Jerry hogwash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Calling this introductory is misleading and i don’t understand this

[Olivia]

school read

[Athena]

for phil 0110: ancient greek philosophy :)

[Julieanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread.

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I grasped was great, but some parts were worded in such a way that they went over my head before I gave heightened effort.

[Erik C · Rating 2 out of 5]

My experience with this book is what has kept me from reading any more Aristotle.

I'll eventually get over it.

[Joshua Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Aristotle; I like his ideas. Saying that, we have much to discuss regarding nonhuman animals and our relations with them. Other than that, Aristotle is the bomb.

[Morris Yen · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite confusing reading..