How to Study Aristotles Ethics

Question

I know that there have been several posts on where to start reading Aristotle, but I think this one would be a little different approach than usual so I think I should ask.

My aim to study Aristotle and other philosophers is to gain an understanding on living a better life. This would mean that I would like to study the texts focused on topics like ethics etc. So I wish to spend less time on reading about, say, metaphysics, unless it is necessary to understand the philosopher and also since I know that there are better models of reality now (in physics etc).

How I plan to study Aristotle is that I will first properly read the articles on https://plato.stanford.edu/ . This includes (in order) :

1. Aristotle
2. Aristotle's Logic
3. Aristotle's Categories
4. Aristotle's Ethics

I think that these articles might give me the necessary understanding of Aristotle's works and so I can directly study his Nicomachean Ethics, Poetry and Rhetoric without getting too deep in the rabbit hole, since Aristotle can be obscure to beginner readers.

Please provide any additional feedback or references to help me in my efforts to study Aristotle.

Answer 1

You will be very interested to read modern accounts of Aristotles ethics, which will situate his ethics against other views, say Kantian. After virtue should in particular give a feel for how distinctive his ethics are. Both of the below are arguably responsible for reviving modern day interest in Aristotles ethics and are on many syllabi, i.e standard.

• Anscombe, G.E. M., “Modern Moral Philosophy”, Philosophy, 33 (1958).

• MacIntyre, A., After Virtue (London: Duckworth, 1985).

Lastly, don’t forget Aristotle‘s politics. Recall that Aristotle postulated an intimate link between ethics and politics :

• The shared pursuit of virtue is what makes a state a state. In particular citizens must agree to some degree on a common good.
• The duty of the state is to impress a moral education upon its citizens

Richard Krauts book has been recommended to me for this purpose

Answer 2

Good luck! Aristotle an Kant are two of the most influential philosophers in history, by my thinking, precisely because their body of work is rich and open to interpretation.

Besides the SEP there are three other sources you can work with:

1. You have listed some SEP articles, but here's also a list of IEP articles which includes Aristotle, Aristotle: Biology, Aristotle: Politics, ad nauseum (IEP).
2. Google Books has a list of references to entire books devoted to explaining Aristotle (GB). For instance, at the top of the search is Aristotle: Understanding the World's Greatest Philosopher (GB).
3. Aristotle himself! There are a number of basic and complete works of Aristotle, often with insightful commentary. Never hurts to read the primary material.
4. It might also help to build up a broader picture of Ancient Greece, both historically and the philosophy before and after Aristotle (GB). It is typical in an act of exegesis to be armed with historical, archaeological, and scientific fact to guide interpretation.
5. Lastly, you might be interested in Scholasticism, which is a historical period rich with interpretations of Aristotle, particularly in conjunction with the Bible, if you come not from the humanist tradition, but the Christian tradition. The WP article above says "Scholasticism was initially a program conducted by medieval Christian thinkers attempting to harmonize the various authorities of their own tradition, and to reconcile Christian theology with classical and late antiquity philosophy, especially that of Aristotle but also of Neoplatonism."

This structured introduction, however, comes at the price of shaping your views on Aristotle. Along the way, don't forget to try to relate Aristotle to your personal views and experience. It's not good enough to regurgitate the thoughts of others; try have a few thoughts yourself along the way!

Good luck.