Ethics With Aristotle

by Sarah Broadie

In this incisive study Sarah Broadie gives an argued account of the main topics of Aristotle's eudaimonia , virtue, voluntary agency, practical reason, akrasia , pleasure, and the ethical status of theoria . She explores the sense of " eudaimonia ," probes Aristotle's division of the soul
and its virtues, and traces the ambiguities in "voluntary." Fresh light is shed on his comparison of practical wisdom with other kinds of knowledge, and a realistic account is developed of Aristototelian deliberation. The concept of pleasure as value-judgment is expounded, and the problem of
akrasia is argued to be less of a problem to Aristotle than to his modern interpreters. Showing that the theoretic ideal of Nicomachean Ethics X is in step with the earlier emphasis on practice, as well as with the doctrine of the Eudemian Ethics , this work makes a major contribution towards the
understanding of Aristotle's ethics.

Genres: Philosophy

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Henry Phillips]

Getting through this book was a hard slog. It is closer to a commentary than a thematic study. However, I have learnt so much from it -- not just about Aristotle's views but about how we should approach classical philosophers from our own viewpoint.

[Apatheia]

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this book. Extremely dense and dry but very illuminating. It felt akin to mud wrestling, perhaps the way it is written does not make for the most enjoyable experience. Yet one is happy to have slogged through.