Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics: An Introduction

360 Pages·2005·1.44 MB·English

by  Michael Pakaluk

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ARISTOTLE’S NICOMACHEAN ETHICS
In this engaging and accessible introduction to the
NicomacheanEthics,Aristotle’sgreatmasterpieceofmoralphi-
losophy, Michael Pakaluk offers a thorough and lucid exam-
inationoftheentirework,uncovering Aristotle’smotivations
andbasicviewswhilepayingcarefulattentiontohisarguments.
Pakaluk gives original and compelling interpretations of the
Function Argument, the Doctrine of the Mean, courage and
other character virtues, akrasia, and the two treatments of
pleasure. The chapter on friendship captures Aristotle’s doc-
trinewithclarityandinsight.Thereisalsoausefulsectionon
howtoreadanAristoteliantext.Thisbookwillbeinvaluable
forallstudentreadersencounteringoneofthemostimportant
andinfluentialworksofWesternphilosophy.
michael pakaluk is Associate Professor of Philosophy at
ClarkUniversity,Massachusetts.Hehaspublishedextensively
inthehistoryofphilosophy,includingPlato,Aquinas,Hume,
andReid,aswellasinpoliticalphilosophy,philosophicallogic,
andearlyanalyticphilosophy.
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Thisnewseriesoffersintroductorytextbooksonwhatareconsideredtobe
the most important texts of Western philosophy. Each book guides the
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Titlespublishedintheseries:
descartes’s meditationsbyCatherineWilson
wittgenstein’s philosophicalinvestigationsby
DavidG.Stern
wittgenstein’s tractatusbyAlfredNordmann
aristotle’s nicomacheanethicsbyMichaelPakaluk
ARISTOTLE’S
NICOMACHEAN ETHICS
An Introduction
MICHAEL PAKALUK
ClarkUniversity,Massachusetts
cambridge university press
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©MichaelPakaluk2005
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Firstpublishedinprintformat2005
isbn-13 978-0-511-13072-4 eBook (NetLibrary)
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isbn-13 978-0-521-81742-4 hardback
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Contents
Preface page ix
1 ReadingAristotle’sNicomacheanEthics 1
2 Thegoalofhumanlife(NicomacheanEthics,book1) 47
3 Character-relatedvirtue(NicomacheanEthics1.13
andbook2) 87
4 Actionsassignsofcharacter(NicomacheanEthics3.1–5) 118
5 Someparticularcharacter-relatedvirtues(Nicomachean
Ethics3.6–4.9) 151
6 Justiceasacharacter-relatedvirtue(Nicomachean
Ethics,book5) 181
7 Thinking-relatedvirtue(NicomacheanEthics,book6) 206
8 Akrasia,orfailureofself-control(Nicomachean
Ethics7.1–10) 233
9 Friendship(NicomacheanEthics,books8and9) 257
10 Pleasure(NicomacheanEthics7.11–14and10.1–5) 286
11 Happiness(NicomacheanEthics10.6–9) 316
References 332
Index 338
vii