Taking Life Seriously : A Study of the Argument of the Nicomachean Ethics

by Sparshott, Francis

• ISBN13: 9780802071798
• ISBN10: 0802071791
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781442639676
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-02-01
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr
• More Book Details

Summary

This is the first book in modern times that makes sense of the Nicomachean Ethicsin its entirety as an interesting philosophical argument, rather than as a compilation of relatively independent essays. In Taking Life SeriouslyFrancis Sparshott expounds Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethicsas a single continuous argument, a chain of reasoned exposition on the problems of human life. He guides the reader through the whole text passage by passage, showing how every part of it makes sense in the light of what has gone before, as well as indicating problems in Aristotle's argument. No knowledge of Greek is required. When the argument does depend on the precise wording of the Greek text, translations and explanatory notes are provided, and there is a glossary of Greek terms. Sparshott offers insightful and useful criticism, making Taking Life Seriouslythe best available companion to a first reading of the Ethics.

Author Biography

FRANCIS SPARSHOTT is University Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction	p. 3
What Is Best for People (I i-xii; 1094a1-1102a4)	p. 11
Reason in Action (I xiii-VI; 1102a5-1145a11)	p. 70
The Pathology of Practical Reason (VII; 1145a15-1154b34)	p. 238
Love, Consciousness, and Society (VIII-IX; 1155a1-1172a15)	p. 264
The Worth of Pleasure (X i-v; 1172a19-1176a29)	p. 307
The Good Life and the Best Life: Outline of a Discourse (X vi-viii; 1176a30-1179a32)	p. 324
Postscript: The Transition to Politics (X ix; 1179a33-1181b23)	p. 355
Afterword	p. 359
Appendix: Aristotle's World	p. 363
Notes	p. 369
Glossary	p. 437
References	p. 443
Index	p. 449
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