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Title: The Ethics of Aristotle: The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristoteles. ISBN: 0-14-044055-0 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1955 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Neither a Rule nor Relativist Book!
Comment: Like laws, rules are general. However, particular cases will arise in which it is unclear how the law or rule is to be applied and unclear what justice demands in a given case. If no ethical formula exists to act right then we must on occasions act "according to right reason" (Ethics, 1138b25). To judge "according to right reason" is to judge more or less by putting to use Aristotle's notion of a 'Mean' and general characterization of the virtues (courage, restraint, truthfulness, patience, friendliness, etc., among some of Aristotle's "mean" virtues) and act accordingly.
An enriching classical "guidebook" that appropriates itself TODAY as it did and has throughout history. Our humanness and relationships, contacts, political associations or whatever else you may call "interaction" with fellow human beings will always exist and pose situations in how to 'act right'. When one has consideration of others one will desire to think and act in a way of securing the happiness of self and others. Achieving the highest human good is becoming good men and women. That good is happiness.
Rating: 3
Summary: excellently constructed, but weak in application
Comment: The first thing that a reader must understand is that The Nicomacean Ethics is a series of lecture notes. This accounts, in part at least, for the dry quality of the writing. It's wasn't really meant to be a polished piece. yet, Aristotle puts his argument together well. He goes into great details in defining his terms. He also builds his arguments upon each other (a kind of constant construction of logic). Since many modern philosophers (popular and otherwise) work with the idea of ethics, this particular writing may seem a bit like common sense.
The basic idea is that the actions that a person takes are directed at a good (or goal). That goal ineveitably is happiness (read happiness as fullfillment in life). It doesn't really matter whether the individual has a correct sense of what true happiness is, he/she will work toward what is perceived as happiness. To Aristotle happiness is the contemplative life, as well as following the golden mean. The golden mean is the middle point, or virtue, that sits between the excess and ascetism. Thus, to Aristotle a person should neither drink, or eat, too much, nor should he/she drink, or eat too little. What is this mean, you might ask. Well, it differs in regards to the individual. That is, what might be just right for an average man (let say in terms of food) may be too little for an athlete. So, this really isn't a very effective universal measure of virtue and vice.
From this set up, Aristotle extends this idea into different catagories (money, personal interaction, drinking, etc). Later, he goes on to define justice, and how the just person should act. He also goes through the qualifiers, and disqualifiers, of just acts --and justice, in general. Personally, I felt that this was the weakest section of his argument. It seemed dotted with oversights, and exceptions. He, however, seemed to recover in the later books which concerned the roles of freindships, which he breaks down into three kinds.
I think that this book is usefull in evaluating your own life. Many of the ideas contained within it are thought provoking. However, I think Aristotle is too vague (despite the fact that Aristotle states that you can't expect exact answers out of a philosopher) to be of any practical use. His idea of the mean seems so arbitrary that it bends to individual perception. For instance, a man/woman who loans a friend a large sum of money may find his action to be one of simple generosity. However, another , who holds onto money more tightly might see this lender as a foolish spendthrift. This idea works only on an individual basis (or based on individual perceptions) This seems like a weak basis for a code of ethics.
One of the great stregths of this edition is the introduction, which does an excellent job of explaining the terms that Aristotle uses throughout the work. It also give a general overview of the work. I would recomend this to anyone who's interested in moral philosophy, or simply ancient philosophy.
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Title: The Republic by Plato, Benjamin Jowett ISBN: 0486411214 Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $2.50 |
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Title: The Politics by Aristotle, T.A. Sinclair, T. A. Sinclair, Trevor J. Saunders ISBN: 0140444211 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1992 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Confessions by Saint Augustine, Henry Chadwick ISBN: 0192833723 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Utilitarianism and Other Essays by John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham, Alan Ryan ISBN: 0140432728 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1987 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Aristotle's Ethics (Cliffs Notes) by Robert J. Milch, Charles H. Patterson ISBN: 0822008890 Publisher: Cliffs Notes Pub. Date: 11 March, 1966 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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