Nic Ethics

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ARISTOTLE: NICOMACHEAN ETHICSA GUIDE AND TUTORIAL COURSE

BY GEOFFREY FERRARI

Version of October 2014


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CONTENTS

Welcome 2

Topics

1 Eudaimonia (Happiness) in Bk I 5

2 The Human Good and the Human Function 73 The Nature of Virtue 9

4 Responsibility and Character 11

5 Virtue Ethics, Magnanimity, and the Fine 13

6 Justice 15

7 Practical Reasoning and Phronesis (Prudence) 17

8 Akrasia (Incontinence) 19

9 Pleasure 21

10 Friendship 23

11 Eudaimonia in Book X 25

12 The Critique of Plato’s Form of the Good in I.6 26

13 Methodology and Metaphysical Background 27

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WELCOME

Welcome to my course on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. The Oxford Undergraduate Philosophy Hand-

book introduces this paper as follows:

The Nicomachean Ethics is one of the four treatises in the Aristotelian Corpus (the others are

the Eudemian Ethics, the Magna Moralia and the Politics) that examine the moral and politicalquestions discussed in Plato’s Republic and Laws. Like Plato in the Republic, Aristotle is con-cerned with the question, what is the best possible sort of life? In the Ethics he answers this

question by examining the structure of human action, responsibility, the virtues, the nature

of moral knowledge, weakness of will, pleasure, friendship, and other related issues. Much of

what Aristotle has to say on these is ground-breaking, highly perceptive, and still important in

contemporary debate in ethics and moral psychology. The examination includes a compulsory

question requiring comments on passages in English translation, as well as essay questions.

Set Texts

Set Greek Text

Aristotle. Aristotelis Ethica Nicomachea. Ed. by Ingram Bywater. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963. :019814511X

Set Translation

Aristotle. Nicomachean ethics. Trans. by Terence Irwin. 2nd ed. Oxford Classical Texts. Indianapolis ;Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Co., 1999

Other Useful Translations

Aristotle. Nicomachean ethics. Trans. by Roger Crisp. Cambridge texts in the history of philosophy. Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000

Aristotle. The Nicomachean ethics. Trans. by W. D. Ross. With a comment. by Lesley Brown. Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2009. : 9780199213610; 0199213615. : http://classics.mit.edu/

Aristotle/nicomachaen.html

Aristotle. Nicomachean ethics. Trans. by Christopher Rowe. With a comment. by Sarah Broadie. Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2002. : 0198752717

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Aristotle. The Ethics of Aristotle : the Nicomachean ethics. Trans. by J. A. K. Thomson and Hugh Tredennick.

With a comment. by Jonathan Barnes. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976. : 0140440550

Where To Begin

Begin by reading the Nicomachean Ethics from start to finish. Then continue as follows:

Short Introductions to Aristotle’s Ethics

D. S. Hutchinson. “Ethics”. In: ed. by Jonathan Barnes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

: 0521411335; 0521422949

Fred Miller. “Aristotle: Ethics and Politics”. In: The Blackwell guide to ancient philosophy . Oxford: Blackwell,2003, p. 333. : 0631222146; 0631222154. : 10.1111/b.9780631222156.2002.x. : http://www.blackwellreference.com/subscriber/book?id=g9780631222156_9780631222156

Richard Kraut. “Aristotle’s Ethics”. In: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy . Ed. by Edward N. Zalta.Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. : http: //plato .stanford. edu/entries/

aristotle-ethics/

Book Length Introductions

Christopher John Shields. Aristotle. London: Routledge, 2007, p. 456. : 9780415283311; 0415283310;9780415283328; 0415283329

David Bostock. Aristotle’s Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000

Sarah Broadie. Ethics with Aristotle. New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 462. :0195066014; 0195085604. : 10.1093/0195085604.001.0001

Gerard J. Hughes. Routledge philosophy guidebook to Aristotle on ethics. London: Routledge, 2001. :0415221862; 0415221870

For a fuller introduction to classical Greek philosophy, covering the Presocratics, Socrates, Plato and Aris-

totle, see:

Christopher John Shields. Classical philosophy : a contemporary introduction. London: Routledge, 2003,p. 161. : 0415233976 hbk; 0415233984 pbk

Commentaries

Aristotle. Ethics. With a comment. by John Burnet. London: Methuen, 1900

J. A. Stewart. Notes on the Nicomachean ethics of Aristotle. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1892

René Antoine Gauthier and Jean Yves Jolif. L’Éthique à Nicomaque. Louvain: Publications universitaires,1958; 1959

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Harold H. Joachim. Aristotle : the Nicomachean ethics : a commentary . Ed. by D. A. Rees. Oxford: Clarendon

Press, 1955; 1951

William Francis Ross Hardie. Aristotle’s ethical theory . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. : 0198246323;0198246331

J. O. Urmson. Aristotle’s Ethics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988. : 0631156739; 0631159460

Michael Pakaluk. Nicomachean ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. : 0198751036; 0198751044

Aristotle. Nicomachean ethics. Trans. and comm. by C. C. W Taylor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006, p. 258.: 9780198250678; 0198250673; 9780198250661; 0198250665

Anthologies Jonathan Barnes, Malcolm Schofield, and Richard Sorabji, eds. Articles on Aristotle. Vol. 2: Ethics and Politics.London: Duckworth, 1977. : 0715609297; 0715609300

Richard Kraut, ed. The Blackwell guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics. Malden, MA ; Oxford: Blackwell,2006. : 9781405120203; 1405120207; 9781405120210; 1405120215

Amélie Rorty. Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2. Berkeley ; London: University of Cali-fornia Press, 1980

Nancy Sherman. Aristotle’s ethics : critical essays. Lanham, Md. ; Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. :084768914X; 0847689158 pbk

Works on Aristotle

J. L. Ackrill. Aristotle the philosopher . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. : 0192191314; 0192891189

Jonathan Barnes. Aristotle : a very short introduction. Vol. 32. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. :0192854089

Terence Irwin. Aristotle’s first principles. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988. : 0198247176; 0198242905.: 10.1093/0198242905.001.0001

Christopher John Shields. Aristotle. London: Routledge, 2007, p. 456. : 9780415283311; 0415283310;

9780415283328; 0415283329

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1 EUDAIMONIA (HAPPINESS) IN BK I

Essay

Assess Aristotle’s arguments that the highest good, the complete good, and the self-sucient good, are

each to be identified as eudaimonia.

NB This essay is not about the function argument. Focus on the arguments in Bk 1, chs. 1-7 that precedediscussion of the function argument.

Tutorial Reading

Nicomachean Ethics, I, esp. chs. 1-7.

Either: David Bostock. Aristotle’s Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, chs. 1, 9

Or: Gerard J. Hughes. Routledge philosophy guidebook to Aristotle on ethics. London: Routledge, 2001. :0415221862; 0415221870, ch. 3

Roger Crisp. “Aristotle’s Inclusivism”. In: Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy . Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor.Vol. XII. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994

T. H. Irwin. “Review: The Structure of Aristotelian Happiness”. In: Ethics 101.2 (1991). : 00141704. :http://www.jstor.org/stable/2381870

P. Glassen. “A Fallacy in Aristotle’s Argument about the Good”. In: The Philosophical Quarterly 7.29 (1957),pp. 319–322. : 00318094. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/2217295

Further Reading

J. L. Ackrill. “Aristotle on eudaimonia”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2. Berkeley ;London: University of California Press, 1980

C. D. C. Reeve. Practices of reason : Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992. :019823984X; 0198235658, ch. 3, esp. §21

William Francis Ross Hardie. Aristotle’s ethical theory . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. : 0198246323;0198246331, ch. 2

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Thomas Nagel. “Aristotle on eudaimonia”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2. Berkeley

; London: University of California Press, 1980

Anthony Kenny. “Aristotle on Happiness”. In: Articles on Aristotle. Ed. by Jonathan Barnes, MalcolmSchofield, and Richard Sorabji. Vol. 2: Ethics and Politics. London: Duckworth, 1977. : 0715609297;

0715609300

Richard Kraut. “Two Conceptions of Happiness”. In: The Philosophical Review 88.2 (1979). : 00318108.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2184505

Gavin Lawrence. “Aristotle and the Ideal Life”. In: The Philosophical Review 102.1 (1993). : 00318108.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2185651

Daniel T. Devereux. “Aristotle on the Essence of Happiness”. In: vol. 9. Washington, D.C: Catholic Uni-versity of America Press, 1981. : 081320559X

E. Weilenberg. “Egoism and Eudaimonia-Maximization in the Nicomachean Ethics”. In: Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy . Vol. XXVII. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004

John McDowell. “The role of Eudaimonia in Aristotle’s Ethics”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkersseries ; 2. Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980

Exam Questions

Does Aristotle think that the science (episteme) of the good is political science?

‘Even if everyone aims at the good, it does not follow that there is some one good that everyone aims at, or

that they ought to aim at.’ Does Aristotle’s discussion of ‘happiness’ (eudaimonia) in Nicomachean Ethics I

show that he can meet this objection?

‘…happiness [eudaimonia] requires both complete virtue and a complete life’ (I.9, llOOa4-5). Is happiness

reserved for dead saints?

‘It is true that everyone aims at happiness (eudaimonia), but it is entirely trivial.’ Is this a fair assessment of

Aristotle’s position?

‘Is happiness acquired by learning or habituation, …or is it the result of divine fate or even of fortune?’ Does

Aristotle give a satisfactory answer to his question?

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2 THE HUMAN GOOD AND THE HUMAN FUNCTION

Essay

Does Aristotle establish any connection between what is distinctive of a human being and what makes fora good human life?

Tutorial Reading

Nicomachean Ethics Bk I, Bk II.6

Terence Irwin. “The Metaphysical and Psychological Basis of Aristotle’s Ethics”. In: Essays on Aristotle’sEthics. Major thinkers series ; 2. Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980

Julia Annas. The morality of happiness. New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. : 019507999X;0195096525. : 10.1093/0195096525.001.0001, ch. 18

Jennifer Whiting. “Aristotle’s Function Argument: A Defense.” In: Ancient Philosophy 8 (1988). : 0740-2007

Richard Kraut. Aristotle on the human good . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. : 069107349X;069102071X

David Charles and Dominic Scott. “Aristotle on Well-Being and Intellectual Contemplation”. In: Proceed-ings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes 73 (1999). : 03097013. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/4107065

Further Reading

Thomas Hurka. Perfectionism. Oxford ethics series. New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993

Bernard Arthur Owen Williams. Ethicsandthelimitsofphilosophy . Fontana masterguides. London: Fontana,1985, ch. 3

Michael V. Wedin. “Aristotle on the Good for Man”. In: Mind 90.358 (1981). : 00264423. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/2253340

Richard Kraut. “The Peculiar Function Of Human Beings”. In: Canadian Journal of Philosophy 9 (1979). :0045-5091

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Exam Questions

‘If man turned out to be unique only in having a sense of humour, would it follow that he should concen-

trate his energies on inventing and telling jokes?’ (NOZICK). Is this a good criticism of Aristotle’s function

argument?

‘Deliberating well is the function of the prudent person more than anyone else’ (1141b9-10). D’

Does Aristotle establish any connection between what is distinctive of a human being and what makes for

a good human life?

‘Happiness consists in virtuous activity, the activity the intelligent (phronimoi) would choose. But the

intelligent are just those who deliberate well and find happiness.’ Is Aristotle’s ethical system circular and

trivial?

‘It is fallacious to argue from what human nature is to what it ought to be.’ Is this a good objection to

Aristotle?

Is the superior status accorded to the life of theoretical study (theoria) an inevitable consequence of Aris-

totle’s reliance on an argument from the function of a human being?

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3 THE NATURE OF VIRTUE

Essay

‘Virtue, then, is a state that decides, consisting in a mean, the mean relative to us, which is defined by

reference to reason, that is to say, to the reason by reference to which the prudent person would define it.’

Is this an adequate definition of virtue? Is it circular?

Tutorial Reading

(II; III.6-12; IV)

Either: David Bostock. Aristotle’s Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, ch. 2

Or: Gerard J. Hughes. Routledge philosophy guidebook to Aristotle on ethics. London: Routledge, 2001. :0415221862; 0415221870, ch. 4

Howard J. Curzer. “A Defense of Aristotle’s Doctrine that Virtue Is a Mean.” In: Ancient Philosophy 16.1

(1996). : 0740-2007

Stephen R. L. Clark. Aristotle’s man : speculations upon Aristotelian anthropology . Oxford: Clarendon Press,1975. : 0198245165; 019842715X pbk, pp. 84–97

Nancy Sherman. The Fabric of Character . 1991. : 10.1093/0198239173.001.0001, Introduction andch. 1

Further Reading

D. S. Hutchinson. The virtues of Aristotle. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986. : 0710208588

Peter Losin. “Aristotle’s Doctrine Of The Mean.” In: History of Philosophy Quarterly 4 (1987). : 0740-0675

Rosalind Hursthouse. “A False Doctrine of the Mean”. In: Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society . New Series81 (1980). : 00667374. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/4544965

William Francis Ross Hardie. “Aristotle’s doctrine that virtue is a mean”. In: Articles on Aristotle. Ed. by Jonathan Barnes, Malcolm Schofield, and Richard Sorabji. Vol. 2: Ethics and Politics. London: Duckworth,

1977. : 0715609297; 0715609300

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Lesley Brown. “What Is “the mean relative to us” in Aristotle’s Ethics?” In: Phronesis 42.1 (1997). :

00318868. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/4182546

J. Urmson. “Aristotle’s Doctrine of the mean”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2.Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980

Aristotle. The Ethics of Aristotle : the Nicomachean ethics. Trans. by J. A. K. Thomson and Hugh Tredennick.With a comment. by Jonathan Barnes. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976. : 0140440550, Introduction by

Jonathan Barnes

H. W. B. Joseph. “Aristotle’s definition of moral virtue and Plato’s account of justice in the soul”. In: Essaysin ancient & modern philosophy . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1935. Chap. 6

Sarah Broadie. Ethics with Aristotle. New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 462. :0195066014; 0195085604. : 10.1093/0195085604.001.0001, part 2.IX

D. Pears. “Courage as a mean”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2. Berkeley ; London:University of California Press, 1980

Robert Audi. “Acting From Virtue”. In: Mind . New Series 104.415 (1995). : 00264423. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/2254637

Rosalind Hursthouse. “The Central Doctrine of the Mean”. In: The Blackwell guide to Aristotle’s Nico-machean ethics. Ed. by Richard Kraut. Malden, MA ; Oxford: Blackwell, 2006. : 9781405120203;1405120207; 9781405120210; 1405120215

Exam Questions

‘The mean is relative to us.’ Does it follow that courage for you may be different from courage for me?

Is Aristotle’s notion of the mean philosophically interesting?

Does Aristotle’s claim that a virtue of character is a mean ‘relative to us’ constitute a plausible claim about

virtue?

‘Defined by reference to reason, that is to say, to the reason by reference to which the prudent person

would define it’ (Nicomachean Ethics 11.6, 1107al-2). Why does Aristotle introduce these conditions into

his account of the mean? Do they make it indeterminate, or circular?

Does consideration of the particular virtues of character show that the doctrine of the mean is false?

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4 RESPONSIBILITY AND CHARACTER

Essay

Does Aristotle hold, and would he be right to hold, that I am responsible for all and only those things that

I do voluntarily?

Tutorial Reading

II.1-4; III.1-5; V.8

Either: David Bostock. Aristotle’s Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, ch. 5

Or: S. S. Meyer. “Aristotle on the Voluntary”. In: TheBlackwell guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics. Ed. byRichard Kraut. Malden, MA ; Oxford: Blackwell, 2006. : 9781405120203; 1405120207; 9781405120210;

1405120215

Sarah Broadie. Ethics with Aristotle. New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 462. :

0195066014; 0195085604. : 10.1093/0195085604.001.0001, ch. 3

Terence Irwin. “Reason and responsibility in Aristotle”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series; 2. Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980

Richard Sorabji. Necessity, cause and blame : perspectives on Aristotle’s theory . London: Duckworth, 1980.: 0715613723; 0715615491, ch. 16

D. Furley. “Aristotle on the voluntary”. In: Articles on Aristotle. Ed. by Jonathan Barnes, Malcolm Schofield,and Richard Sorabji. Vol. 2: Ethics and Politics. London: Duckworth, 1977. : 0715609297; 0715609300

Further ReadingMichael Pakaluk. Nicomachean ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. : 0198751036; 0198751044, ch.4

J. L. Austin. “A Plea for Excuses: The Presidential Address”. In: Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society . NewSeries 57 (1956). : 00667374. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/4544570, reprinted in J. L.

Austin, J. O. Urmson, and G. J. Warnock. Philosophical papers. 2nd ed. Oxford paperbacks ; 166. London:Oxford University Press, 1970

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Thomas Baldwin. “Foresight and Responsibility”. In: Philosophy 54.209 (1979). : 00318191. : http:

//www.jstor.org/stable/3750607

William Francis Ross Hardie. Aristotle’s ethical theory . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. : 0198246323;0198246331

Aristotle. Nicomachean ethics. Trans. and comm. by C. C. W Taylor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006, p. 258.: 9780198250678; 0198250673; 9780198250661; 0198250665, commentary on bks. II-IV, esp. chs. 1, 5

William Francis Ross Hardie. Aristotle’s ethical theory . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. : 0198246323;0198246331, see index s.v. ‘Responsibility for Character’

Jean Roberts. “Aristotle on Responsibility for Action and Character.” In: Ancient Philosophy 9 (1989). :

0740-2007

Exam Questions

‘These sorts of actions, then, are mixed. But they would seem to be more like voluntary actions’. Explain

and discuss.

Does Aristotle give a convincing account of when and why ignorance renders an action non-culpable?

Does Aristotle provide an adequate account of actions done under duress?

‘Hence, among those who act because of ignorance, the agent who now regrets his action seems to be

unwilling, but the agent with no regrets may be called nonwilling’ (111Ob22-23). What is the significance of this distinction?

Does Aristotle try to show that we are responsible for our characters? If so, how far does he succeed?

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5 VIRTUE ETHICS, MAGNANIMITY, AND THE FINE

Essay

Does the notion of ‘the fine’ or ‘the noble’ (to kalon) have an important role in the Nicomachean Ethics?

Tutorial Reading

(II.7-9; III.6-12; IV; IX.8)

Michael Pakaluk. Nicomachean ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. : 0198751036; 0198751044, ch. 5

Terence H. Irwin. “Aristotle’s Conception of Morality.” In: Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy 1 (1985). : 1059-986X

G. R. Lear. “Aristotle on Moral Virtue and the Fine”. In: The Blackwell guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean

ethics. Ed. by Richard Kraut. Malden, MA ; Oxford: Blackwell, 2006. : 9781405120203; 1405120207;9781405120210; 1405120215

Ronald Polansky and James Stover. “Moral Virtue and ‘Megalopsychia’.” In: Ancient Philosophy 23.2 (2003).: 0740-2007

Further Reading

Sarah Broadie. Ethics with Aristotle. New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 462. :0195066014; 0195085604. : 10.1093/0195085604.001.0001, ch. 4

Kelly Rogers. “Aristotle’s Conception of To K’alon’.” In: Ancient Philosophy 13.2 (1993). : 0740-2007

D. J. Allan. “The Fine and the Good in the Eudemian Ethics”. In: vol. Bd. 1. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1971.

: 311006443X

Neil Cooper. “Aristotle’s Crowning Virtue.” In: Apeiron: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science 22(1989). : 0003-6390

Terence Irwin. “Disunity in the Aristotelian Virtues”. In: Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy . Ed. by JuliaAnnas. Vol. VI. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988

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W. F. R. Hardie. ““Magnanimity” in Aristotle’s Ethics”. In: Phronesis 23.1 (1978), pp. 63–79. : 00318868.

: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4182029

Charles M. Young. “Aristotle on Temperance”. In: The Philosophical Review 97.4 (1988), pp. 521–542. :00318108. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/2185414

Howard J Curzer. “Aristotle’s Much Maligned Megalopsychos.” In: Australasian Journal of Philosophy (1991).: 0004-8402

Christine M. Korsgaard. “From duty and for the sake of the noble: Kant and Aristotle on morally good

action”. In: Aristotle, Kant, and the Stoics : rethinking happiness and duty . Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1996

D. A. Rees. “Magnanimity in the Eudemian and Nicomachean Ethics”. In: vol. Bd. 1. Berlin: Walter deGruyter, 1971. : 311006443X

E. Schutrump. “Magnanimity, megalopsychia, and the System of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics”. In: Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 71 (1989)

T. Tuozzo. “Contemplation, the Noble, and the Mean: The Standard of Moral Virtue in Aristotle’s Ethics”.

In: Edmonton: Academic Printing & Publishing, 1995. : 0920980643; 0920980651

C. C. W. Taylor. “Aristotle’s Epistemology”. In: Epistemology . Companions to ancient thought ; 1. Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990

Exam Questions

‘The virtuous person does the good act for its own sake.’ Is this consistent with Aristotle’s claim that we

all act for the sake of happiness?

In what sense are the virtues chosen both for their own sake and for the sake of happiness (eudaimonia)?

Is there a role for moral principles in Aristotle’s ethics?

Does Aristotle pay sucient attention to the moral significance of consequences?

What does Aristotle mean by the claim that ‘virtue makes the goal correct’ (Nicomachean Ethics VI. 12, 1

144a7-8)?

‘And when everyone strains to achieve what is fine and concentrates on the finest actions, everything that

is right will be done for the common good …’ (NE 1169a8-10). Why should we expect this result?

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6 JUSTICE

Essay

Explain and evaluate Aristotle’s account of justice in Nicomachean Ethics, Bk V.

Tutorial Reading

Nicomachean Ethics, V

David Bostock. Aristotle’s Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, ch. 3

A. R. W. Harrison. “Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Book V, and the Law of Athens”. In: The Journal of Hellenic Studies 77 (1957). : 00754269. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/628632

Miller, D. ‘Justice’ in David Miller. The Blackwell encyclopaedia of political thought. Oxford: Blackwell Ref-erence, 1987. : 0631140115

C. Young. “Aristotle’s Justice”. In: The Blackwell guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics. Ed. by Richard Kraut.Malden, MA ; Oxford: Blackwell, 2006. : 9781405120203; 1405120207; 9781405120210; 1405120215

Further Reading

Aristotle. The fifth book of the Nichomachean ethics of Aristotle. Trans. by Henry Jackson. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1879

B Williams. “Justice is a virtue”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2. Berkeley ; London:University of California Press, 1980 Howard J. Curzer. “Aristotle’s Account of the Virtue of Justice.” In:

Apeiron: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science 28.3 (1995). : 0003-6390

H Kelsen. “Aristotle’s doctrine of justice”. In: Aristotle’s Ethics : issues and interpretations. Belmont, Calif.:Wadsworth, 1967

J. Urmson. “Aristotle’s Doctrine of the mean”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2.Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980

Michael Pakaluk. Nicomachean ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. : 0198751036; 0198751044, ch.6

Alan Brown. Modern political philosophy : theories of the just society . Pelican books. London: Penguin, 1986

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Exam Questions

Why should I be just? Does Aristotle offer or suggest a good answer to this question about either of the

two types of justice that he describes?

Is Aristotle simply mistaken in taking particular justice to be a ‘virtue of character’?

‘Aristotle’s discussion of special justice shows that his theory of the mean is empty and pointless.’ Is this

verdict fair?

What is ’general justice’?

‘Seriously incomplete, or just plain wrong’. Can Aristotle’s account of justice be defended from these criti-

cisms?

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7 PRACTICAL REASONING ANDPHRONESIS (PRUDENCE)

Essay

’For one has all the virtues if and only if one has prudence …’ (Nicomachean Ethics 1145a1–2). Has Aristotleany good reason for believing this?

Tutorial Reading

Nicomachean Ethics, VI


David Wiggins. “Deliberation and practical reason”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ;2. Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980

R Sorabji. “Aristotle on the role of intellect in virtue”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ;2. Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980


Further Reading

C Reeve. “Aristotle on the Virtues of Thought”. In: The Blackwell guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics. Ed.by Richard Kraut. Malden, MA ; Oxford: Blackwell, 2006. : 9781405120203; 1405120207; 9781405120210;

1405120215, ch. 2

William Francis Ross Hardie. Aristotle’s ethical theory . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. : 0198246323;0198246331, ch. 11

John McDowell. “Virtue and Reason”. In: Monist 62 (1979). Reprinted in Roger Crisp and Michael A. Slote.Virtue ethics. Oxford readings in philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997

M. Burnyeat. “Aristotle on learning to be good”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2.Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980

L. H. G. Greenwood. Nicomachean ethics : book six . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1909

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Sarah Broadie. “Interpreting Aristotle’s Directions”. In: Method in ancient philosophy . Oxford: Clarendon

Press, 1998, pp. 291–306. : 0198235712; 0199244987

David Charles. Aristotle’s philosophy of action. London: Duckworth, 1984. : 0715610058; 0715621084

John M. Cooper. Reason and human good in Aristotle. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1975. : 0872200221, ch. 1

John M. Cooper. Reason and emotion : essays on ancient moral psychology and ethical theory . Princeton, N.J.:Princeton University Press, 1999. : 0691058741; 069105875X, chs. 10, 11, 19

Norman O. Dahl. Practical reason, Aristotle, and weakness of the will . Vol. 4. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984. : 0816612455; 0816612463

C. D. C. Reeve. Practices of reason : Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992. :019823984X; 0198235658, ch. 2

Gerard J. Hughes. Routledge philosophy guidebook to Aristotle on ethics. London: Routledge, 2001. :0415221862; 0415221870, ch. 5

Michael Pakaluk. Nicomachean ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. : 0198751036; 0198751044, ch. 7

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8 AKRASIA (INCONTINENCE)

Essay

Is Aristotle’s conception of the ‘practical syllogism’ a help or a hindrance to him in understanding the akratic

person’s actions?

Tutorial Reading

Nicomachean Ethics, VII.1-10, esp. 3

Plato, Protagoras, 352-8

Alexander Grant. The Ethics of Aristotle. London: Longmans, Green, 1885, see the section on part VII.3)


David Charles. Aristotle’s philosophy of action. London: Duckworth, 1984. : 0715610058; 0715621084,

chs. 3–4

C. C. W. Taylor. “Plato, Hare and Davidson on Akrasia”. In: Mind . New Series 89.356 (1980). : 00264423.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2252989

Further Reading

D. Wiggins. “Weakness of will, commensurability, and the objects of deliberation and desire”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2. Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980

A. Kenny. “The Practical Syllogism and Incontinence”. In: Phronesis 11.2 (1966). : 00318868. :



A. Price. “Acrasia and Self-Control”. In: The Blackwell guide to Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics. Ed. byRichard Kraut. Malden, MA ; Oxford: Blackwell, 2006. : 9781405120203; 1405120207; 9781405120210;

1405120215

Donald. Davidson. “How is weakness of the will possible?” In: Essays on actions and events. Oxford:Clarendon Press, 2001. : 10.1093/0199246270.001.0001

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R. Robinson. “Aristotle on akrasia”. In: Articles on Aristotle. Ed. by Jonathan Barnes, Malcolm Schofield, and

Richard Sorabji. Vol. 2: Ethics and Politics. London: Duckworth, 1977. : 0715609297; 0715609300


A. Mele. “Aristotle on Akrasia, Eudaimonia, and the Psychology of Action”. In: Aristotle’s ethics : critical essays. Lanham, Md. ; Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. : 084768914X; 0847689158 pbk

Exam Questions

‘A weak incontinent fails fully to know that it is best (e.g.) not to eat this sweet.’ Is this Aristotle’s view? Is

it a plausible account of incontinence?Does Aristotle concede too much to Socrates in his account of incontinence (akrasia)?

Explain and assess Aristotle’s conception of continence (enkrateia).

What role does knowledge have in Aristotle’s analysis of incontinence (akrasia)?

Is Aristotle’s conception of the ‘practical syllogism’ a help or a hindrance to him in understanding the akratic

person’s actions?

How far does Aristotle agree with Socrates about incontinence, and has he a good reason for agreeing as

far as he does?

Is Aristotle right to claim that the incontinent person is like someone ’asleep or mad or drunk’?

In the end, does Aristotle agree or disagree with Socrates’ denial of the possibility of incontinence (akrasia)?

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9 PLEASURE

Essay

‘For pleasure and pain extend through the whole of our lives, and are of great importance for virtue and

the happy life.’ How so?

Tutorial Reading

Nicomachean Ethics, VII.11-14; X.1-5


J. C. B. Gosling and C. C. W. Taylor. The Greeks on pleasure. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982. :0198246668; 0198247753, chs. 11–17

Amelie Oksenberg Rorty. “The Place of Pleasure in Aristotle’s Ethics”. In: Mind . New Series 83.332 (1974).: 00264423. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/2252842

D. Frede. “Pleasure and Plain in Aristotle’s Ethics”. In: The Blackwell guide to Aristotle’s Nicomacheanethics. Ed. by Richard Kraut. Malden, MA ; Oxford: Blackwell, 2006. : 9781405120203; 1405120207;9781405120210; 1405120215

Further Reading

G. E. L. Owen. “Aristotelian Pleasures”. In: ed. by Martha Craven Nussbaum. London: Duckworth, 1986,

pp. 334–46. : 0715618970

Paula Gottlieb. “Aristotle’s Measure Doctrine and Pleasure”. In: Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 75

(1993)

J. O. Urmson. “Aristotle on Pleasure”. In: Aristotle : a collection of critical essays . Garden City, N.Y: AnchorBooks, 1967, pp. 323–33

J. L. Ackrill. “Aristotle’s Distinction Between Energeia and Kinesis”. In: ed. by G. E. M. Anscombe and

Renford Bambrough. International library of philosophy and scientific method. London: Routledge &

Kegan Paul, 1965. Reprinted in J. L. Ackrill. Essays on Plato and Aristotle. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997.: 0198236417

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J. C. B. Gosling and C. C. W. Taylor. The Greeks on pleasure. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982. :

0198246668; 0198247753, ch. 15



J. Gosling. “More Aristotelian Pleasures”. In: Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society . New Series 74 (1973).: 00667374. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/4544847

J. O. Urmson. Aristotle’s Ethics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988. : 0631156739; 0631159460, ch. 8

C. Taylor. “Pleasure: Aristotle’s Response to Plato”. In: Ashgate Keeling series in ancient philosophy. Alder-shot: Ashgate, 2003

Exam Questions

Does Aristotle have a convincing account of pleasure?

Are there important insights to be gained from Aristotle’s discussions of pleasure?

Examine the role of pleasure and pain in Aristotle’s account of virtues of character.

Has Aristotle any good reason to include in the Ethics the two treatments of pleasure that appear in BooksVII and X?

Assess Aristotle’s response to hedonism.

Would Aristotle concede that the best life is the one devoted to pleasure, provided that pleasure is under-

stood correctly?

Why does Aristotle associate some kinds of pleasure with ‘completeness’? Is he right to do so?

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10 FRIENDSHIP

Essay

Does Aristotle justify the claim that complete friendship is the friendship of good people similar in virtue?

Tutorial Reading

Nicomachean Ethics, VIII and IX


Julia Annas. The morality of happiness. New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. : 019507999X;0195096525. : 10.1093/0195096525.001.0001, ch. 12

Richard Kraut. Aristotle on the human good . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. : 069107349X;069102071X, ch. 2

Jennifer Whiting. “The Nicomachean Account of Philia”. In: The Blackwell guide to Aristotle’s Nicomacheanethics. Ed. by Richard Kraut. Malden, MA ; Oxford: Blackwell, 2006. : 9781405120203; 1405120207;9781405120210; 1405120215

Further Reading

A. D. M. Walker. “Aristotle’s Account of Friendship in the “Nicomachean Ethics””. In: Phronesis 24.2 (1979).: 00318868. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/4182066

A. W. Price. Love and friendship in Plato and Aristotle. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989. : 0198249640;0198248997

Michael Pakaluk. Nicomachean ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. : 0198751036; 0198751044,commentary on bks. VIII and IX

J. Cooper. “Aristotle on Friendship”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2. Berkeley ;London: University of California Press, 1980

John M. Cooper. Reason and emotion : essays on ancient moral psychology and ethical theory . Princeton, N.J.:Princeton University Press, 1999. : 0691058741; 069105875X, chs. 14–15

Jennifer E. Whiting. “Impersonal Friends.” In: Monist (1991). : 0026-9662

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Julia Annas. “Plato and Aristotle on Friendship and Altruism”. In: Mind . New Series 86.344 (1977). :

00264423. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/2253312


Nancy Sherman. The Fabric of Character . 1991. : 10.1093/0198239173.001.0001, ch. 4

Charles H. Kahn. “Aristotle and Altruism”. In: Mind . New Series 90.357 (1981). : 00264423. :http://www.jstor.org/stable/2253661

Vasilis Politis. “The Primacy of Self-love in the Nicomachean Ethics”. In: Oxford Studies in Ancient Philoso- phy . Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor. Vol. XI. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993

Exam Questions

‘A friend is a second self.’ Is friendship, for Aristotle, a form of self-love?

‘What is pleasant is what seems so to the good.’ Does Aristotle make this claim convincing?

‘There is also a dispute about whether the happy person will need friends or not.’ Does Aristotle resolve

this dispute satisfactorily?

Does Aristotle justify the claim that complete friendship is the friendship of good people similar in virtue?

Can base people be friends?

Do friends make us happier?

Is Aristotle’s discussion of friendship irrelevant to the rest of the Nicomachean Ethics?

Is Aristotle’s account of friendship simply egoism in disguise?

In what sense, on Aristotle’s view, is a friend ‘another sel?

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11 EUDAIMONIA IN BOOK X

Essay

Does Aristotle explain how study (theoria) and virtuous action should combine in the best human life?

Tutorial Reading

David Charles and Dominic Scott. “Aristotle on Well-Being and Intellectual Contemplation”. In: Proceed-ings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes 73 (1999). : 03097013. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/4107065

D. Keyt. “Intellectualism in Aristotle”. In: Albany: State University of New York Press, 1971. : 087395050X;

0873956230; 0887069169; 0887069177; 0791406547; 0791410277; 0791449556

Jennifer Whiting. “Human Nature and Intellectualism in Aristotle”. In: Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie68 (1986)

Gavin Lawrence. “Aristotle and the Ideal Life”. In: The Philosophical Review 102.1 (1993). : 00318108.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2185651

Exam Questions

What, if anything, do external goods contribute to happiness?

‘Aristotle sometimes identifies happiness with one activity (theoretical study), sometimes with several (in-

cluding ethically virtuous activity).’ Is there a basic inconsistency in his ethical theory?

Why is theoretical study (theoria) the supreme activity?

Does it follow from what Aristotle says that we should spend as much time as we can in study (theoria)?

Does Aristotle explain how study (theoria) and virtuous action should combine in the best human life?

‘What Aristotle says in Nicomachean Ethics X in favour of “theoretical study” (theoria) as the content of

the best life applies just as much to chess-playing.’ Is this a good objection?

Does Aristotle have a consistent account of the roles played in a happy life by study (theoria) and by activity

in accordance with virtue of character?

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12 THE CRITIQUE OF PLATO’S FORMOF THE GOOD IN I.6

Essay

Why does Aristotle criticise the Platonists’ conception of the good?

Tutorial Reading

Eudemian Ethics I.8, translated with commentary in Aristotle. Eudemian ethics. With a comment. by M. J.Woods. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992. : 019875132X; 0198240201

David Bostock. Aristotle’s Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, appendix to ch. 1

J. L. Ackrill. “Categories”. In: Articles on Aristotle. Ed. by Jonathan Barnes, Malcolm Schofield, and RichardSorabji. Vol. 2: Ethics and Politics. London: Duckworth, 1977. : 0715609297; 0715609300

L. A. Kosman. “Predicating the Good”. In: Phronesis 13.2 (1968). : 00318868. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/4181817

David Wiggins. “On Sentence-sense, Word-sense, and Difference of Word-sense”. In: ed. by Danny

D. Steinberg and Leon A. Jakobovits. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971. : 0521078229;

0521204992; 0521098815

Christopher John Shields. Order in multiplicity : homonymy in the philosophy of Aristotle. Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1999. : 0198237154; 0199253072. : 10.1093/0199253072.001.0001, ch. 8

Scott MacDonald. “Aristotle and the Homonymy of the Good”. In: Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 71(1989)

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13 METHODOLOGY ANDMETAPHYSICAL BACKGROUND

Essay

‘As in the other cases, we must set out the appearances, and first of all go through the puzzles. In this way,we must prove the common beliefs about these ways of being affected — ideally, all the common beliefs,

but if not all, most of them, and the most important. For if the objections are solved, and the common

beliefs are left, it will be an adequate proof.’ Is this a good method in ethics? Is it Aristotle’s only method?

Essential Concepts

• dialectic • substance • matter • form • function • soul

Tutorial Reading

NB References to Nicomachean Ethics are given as the book number in Roman numerals followed by an

Arabic chapter number e.g. VII.1 is Book 7, Chapter 1. References to line numbers may also be given —

these are listed in the translation, usually in the margin.

Nicomachean Ethics, VII.1, (1145b2-7)


Jonathan Barnes. “Aristotle and the Methods of Ethics.” In: Revue Internationale de Philosophie 34 (1980).: 0048-8143

Terence Irwin. “The Metaphysical and Psychological Basis of Aristotle’s Ethics”. In: Essays on Aristotle’s

Ethics. Major thinkers series ; 2. Berkeley ; London: University of California Press, 1980

C. D. C. Reeve. Practices of reason : Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992. :019823984X; 0198235658, ch. 1

G. E. L. Owen. “Tithenai ta phainomena”. In: ed. by Martha Craven Nussbaum. London: Duckworth, 1986.

: 0715618970

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Further Reading


Terence Irwin. Aristotle’s first principles. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988. : 0198247176; 0198242905.: 10.1093/0198242905.001.0001, chs. 1–2

D. W. Hamlyn. “Aristotle on Dialectic”. In: Philosophy 65.254 (1990). : 00318191. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/3751284

Robin Smith. “Aristotle on the Uses of Dialectic”. In: Synthese 96.3 (1993). : 00397857. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/20117817

Sherwin Klein. “An Analysis and Defense of Aristotle’s Method in ‘Nicomachean Ethics’ I and X.”. In: AncientPhilosophy 8 (1988). : 0740-2007

Walter Sinnott Armstrong. “Moral Skepticism and Justification”. In: New York ; Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 1996

Exam Questions

‘The many, however, do not do these actions. They take refuge in arguments, thinking that they are doing

philosophy, and that this is the way to become excellent people’ (11.4, 1105b12-14). Why does Aristotle

think that the many are wrong about this? Does he have a reasonable view about the practical use of

moral philosophy?

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