Aristotle's Dialogue with Socrates: On the "Nicomachean Ethics"
Ronna Burger
Abstract
What is the good life for a human being? Aristotle's exploration of this question in the Nicomachean Ethics has established it as a founding work of Western philosophy, though its teachings have long puzzled readers and provoked spirited discussion. Adopting a new point of view, this book deciphers some of the most perplexing conundrums of this influential treatise by approaching it as Aristotle's dialogue with the Platonic Socrates. Tracing the argument of the Ethics as it emerges through that approach, the book's reading shows how Aristotle represents ethical virtue from the perspective of t ... More
What is the good life for a human being? Aristotle's exploration of this question in the Nicomachean Ethics has established it as a founding work of Western philosophy, though its teachings have long puzzled readers and provoked spirited discussion. Adopting a new point of view, this book deciphers some of the most perplexing conundrums of this influential treatise by approaching it as Aristotle's dialogue with the Platonic Socrates. Tracing the argument of the Ethics as it emerges through that approach, the book's reading shows how Aristotle represents ethical virtue from the perspective of those devoted to it, while standing back to examine its assumptions and implications.
Keywords:
good life,
human being,
Aristotle,
Nicomachean Ethics,
Western philosophy,
Socrates,
ethical virtue,
teachings,
treatise
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2008 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780226080505 |
| Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: March 2013 |
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226080543.001.0001 |
