From kant to john rawls, all philosophers have discussed the issue with aristotle on the good life and on happiness to summarize, aristotle raises the question of virtue. The best book for you will depend on your preferred learning style and the amount of time that you want to spend reading about ethics. Aristotles ethics stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. This good, continually fluctuating, always consists in a mean between two evervarying extremes of excess and defect. He considered philosophy to be the discerning of the selfevident, changeless first principles that form the basis of all knowledge. Bringing together the education and philosophy communities, plato celebrates diversity within the philosophy classroom and endorses a wide variety of philosophical approaches and methods. Metaphysics entry by joe sachs in the internet encyclopedia of philosophy. The iep provides open access to scholarly articles in all areas of philosophy.
He does not himself use either of these titles, although in the politics 1295a36 he refers back to one of themprobably the eudemian ethics as ta ethikahis writings about character. Political philosophy political philosophy aristotle. Internet encyclopedia of philosophy internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Nominate your favourite philosophy web site or the philosophy site you enjoyed visiting most this week.
Mar 18, 2020 philpapers with full text database is now available this database is a comprehensive index of philosophy books and articles. Indeed, the theory of categories spans his entire career and serves as a kind of scaffolding for much of his philosophical theorizing, ranging from metaphysics and philosophy of nature to psychology and value theory. He was one of the most important philosophers in the history of western civilization. From its inception, the sep was designed so that each entry is maintained and kept up to date by an expert or group of experts in the field. It is just a place philosophers go to do terrible philosophy and act thoughtlessly.
Internet encyclopedia of philosophy on ve, sections 2a2d, 3a only. Between them they transformed early now, presocratic greek philosophy into the foundations of western philosophy as we know it. The western tradition originates with the writings of ancient greek thinkers, such as plato and aristotle, from 500 bce onward. To get started, simply choose one of the resources listed below, or browse a selection of key quotes by aristotle at the bottom of the page.
He was a student of plato for twenty years but is famous for rejecting platos theory of forms. Aristotle stagira, macedonia, 384 bc chalicis, euboea, greece, 7 march 322 bc was a greek philosopher. On a recent trip i was introduced to a senior philosopher who soon turned the conversation away from the standard opening pleasantries with this. It covers a wide range of philosophical ideas including oftenneglected noneuropean traditions such as african philosophies and islamic ethics. Epicurus founded his first philosophical schools in mytilene and lampsacus, before moving to athens around 306 b. The eight best introductory books on ethics the daily idea. In book six of the ethics aristotle says that all knowledge can be classified into three categories. Just to be clear, there is no single best book on ancient greek philosophy. Aristotle conceives of ethical theory as a field distinct from the theoretical sciences. Encyclopedia articles this section features articles from the stanford encyclopedia of. A large collection of online essays and web resources. Nicomachean ethics by aristotle, part of the internet classics. The internet classics archive nicomachean ethics by aristotle. In saying this, however, the theist would have tacitly admitted that there is a standard of goodness that is independent of god.
In order to properly define ethical behaviour, aristotle attempts to conceive of a society that is ideal in the sense of securing the maximum happiness for the entire population. Ethics problems of divine origin encyclopedia britannica. Socrates wrote nothing, and his ideas come down to us. Introduction to the text that focuses on three central terms or concepts within the ethics. Standard interpretations of aristotle s nichomachean ethics usually maintain that aristotle 384322 b.
Put simply, these kinds of knowledge are distinguished by their aims. Internet encyclopedia of philosophy gives a very similar definition that says that areteology is a broad term for theories that emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing ones duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences. Bibliography on aristotelian ethics maintained at the centre for contemporary aristotelian studies in ethics and politics, london. Essay topics include camus, institutional suicide of chinese buddhism, and ayn rand. Internet encyclopedia of philosophy aristotle is a towering figure in ancient greek philosophy, who made important contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theater. Virtue ethics are normative ethical theories which emphasize virtues of mind, character and. In this book, anthony celano explores how medieval authors recast aristotles ethics according to their own moral ideals. Aristotle is a towering figure in ancient greek philosophy, who made important contributions to logic, criticism, rhetoric, physics, biology, psychology, mathematics, metaphysics, ethics, and politics. The eight best books on ancient greek philosophy the daily idea. The field of ethics or moral philosophy involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Recent books on particular areas of epicurus philosophy.
Without an independent standard, it would be pointless to say that. Plato promotes philosophy classes for all k12 students, including those in classrooms least likely to have access to academic enrichment programs. Internet encyclopedia of philosophy plato philosophy. Politics aristotle project gutenberg selfpublishing. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas. In this original sense, ethics means an analysis about the character or character traits. Modern morality and ancient ethics internet encyclopedia.
Use this guide to learn more about this important thinkers works, life, and reasons for continuing influence. Aristotle wrote a book of his poetics on comedy, but the book did not survive. Michael winter 2001 proceedings of the american catholic philosophical association 75. An 800page scholarly overview is unlikely to be best for someone looking for a short beginner. When aristotle analyses the good life in the nicomachean ethics and the eudemian ethics, he therefore focuses on the central topic of good and bad character traits that is virtues and vices. Just to be clear, there is no single best book on ethics. The internet encyclopedia of philosophy iep is a scholarly online encyclopedia, dealing with philosophy, philosophical topics, and philosophers. Ancient greek, hellenistic, late antiquity, mediaeval, and modern. It is commonly thought that virtues, according to aristotle, are habits and that the good life is a life of mindless routine.
The ethics of the encyclopedia of philosophy 950 words. Aristotle was a scientist rather than a prophet, and his politics, written while he was teaching at the. Aristotle, nicomachean ethics, book i, sections 14, 78, 10. Aristotle simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Moral philosophy is called political by aristotle on the ground that the supreme human good is the same for individual and for citystate. To summarize, aristotle raises the question of virtue. Aristotle, who was a pupil in the academy of plato, remarks that all the writings of plato are original. Its methodology must match its subject mattergood actionand must respect the fact that in this field many generalizations hold only for the most part. The nicomachean ethics is the name normally given to aristotles bestknown work on ethics. The philosophers principle work of moral philosophy is entitled nicomachean ethics, and is comprised of ten distinct books. The entries are authored by leading scholars and include extensive bibliographies. Email citation introduction to the text that focuses on three central terms or concepts within the ethics. Plato and aristotles thoughts on logic, science, classification, ethics, and politics have guided western thought for over 2,000 years.
Aristotle aristotles ethics aristotles political theory aristotles metaphysics aristotles. If librarians categorize books and botanists categorize plants, then what does the. He was more empiricallyminded than plato or socrates and is famous. The internet encyclopedia of philosophy gives a very similar definition that says that areteology is a broad term for theories that emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing ones duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences. Aristotles ethics project gutenberg selfpublishing. The encyclopedia covers the following areas of eastern. Judged solely in terms of his philosophical influence, only plato is his peer. The three greatest ancient greek philosophers were aristotle, plato, who was a teacher of aristotle, and socrates c. This lengthy entry contains sections on deweys life and works, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, ethical and social theory, aesthetics, critical reception and influence, and bibliography. In this way, aristotle s philosophy of being and substance, like much else in his philosophy, relies upon an antecedent commitment to his theory of categories.
As a typical example, in a passage of his nicomachean ethics, aristotle. Aristotle s nicomachean ethics had a profound influence on generations of later philosophers, not only in the ancient era but also in the medieval period and beyond. If it were up to me, the internetespecially blogs and social mediawould go out of existence. Shop philosophy ethics moral philosophy books at alibris. Aristotle placed great emphasis in his school on direct observation of nature, and in science he taught that theory must follow fact. Political philosophy aristotle encyclopedia britannica. Aristotle is a towering figure in ancient greek philosophy, making contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre. The nicomachean ethics by aristotle is the most influential book of the moral philosophy.
But perfection in everything is perhaps a difficult thing. In this book, anthony celano explores how medieval authors recast aristotle s ethics according to their own moral ideals. If your nomination is accepted it will will be added to the head of this list. He was about 19 when aristotle died, and he studied philosophy under followers of democritus and plato. Contribution is generally by invitation, and contributors are recognized and leading international. In the ethics, aristotle identifies moral virtue as a hexis in book ii, chapter 4. Internet encyclopedia of philosophy, martin, tennessee. Jan 02, 2019 this page contains a list of the best books on ancient greek philosophy. In his natural philosophy, aristotle combines logic with observation to make general. Where there are ends apart from the actions, it is the nature of the. An 800page scholarly overview is unlikely to be best for someone looking for a short beginnerfriendly introduction, for. Pathways top ten philosophy sites philosophy pathways. He was a student of plato who in turn studied under socrates.
It examines what can be asserted about any being insofar as it is and not because of any. It is said that aristotle wrote many books, but only a much smaller number survive. Its subject matter is human conduct, and its aim is to achieve the good. The virtues also figure prominently in aristotles moral theory see below. Nov 17, 2015 on a recent trip i was introduced to a senior philosopher who soon turned the conversation away from the standard opening pleasantries with this. In order to properly define ethical behaviour, aristotle attempts to conceive of a society that is ideal in the sense of securing the. The encyclopedia of web resources covers the following areas of western philosophy. The internet classics archive nicomachean ethics by. Mar 26, 2020 welcome to the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy sep.
He considered philosophy to be the discerning of the selfevident, changeless first principles that form the basis of all. From kant to john rawls, all philosophers have discussed the issue with aristotle on the good life and on happiness. While various philosophers had influenced christendom since its earliest times, in western. This page contains a list of the best introductory books on ethics. The work, which plays a preeminent role in defining aristotelian ethics, consists of ten books. This page aims to make learning about aristotle as easy as possible by bringing together the best articles, podcasts, and videos from across the internet onto one page. We study ethics in order to improve our lives, and therefore its principal concern is the nature of.
The words eudemian and nicomachean were added later, perhaps because the former was. According to the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, aristotles works shaped centuries of philosophy from late antiquity through the renaissance, and even today continue to be studied with keen, nonantiquarian interest. Aristotles nicomachean ethics had a profound influence on generations of later philosophers, not only in the ancient era but also in the medieval period and beyond. He was more empirically minded than plato and platos. Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy is an openaccess resource very highly regarded for its scholarly, authoritative content. The principal subject is being qua being, or being insofar as it is being. A modern theist see theism might say that, since god is good, god could not possibly approve of torturing children nor disapprove of helping neighbours. To find a specific book using onesearch, choose the books tab and enter the title in quotation marks.