The Nicomachean Ethics By Aristotle (Paperback, 2003)

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Previously published as Ethics Aristotle's The Nicomachean Ethics addresses the question of how to live well & originates the concept of cultivating a virtuous character as the basis of his ethical system This Penguin Classics edition is translated from the Greek by JAK Thomson with revisions & notes by Hugh Tredennick & an introduction & bibliography by Jonathan Barnes' One swallow does not make a summer; neither does one day Similarly neither can one day or a brief space of time make a man blessed & happy' In The Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle sets out to examine the nature of happiness He argues that happiness consists in 'activity of the soul in accordance with virtue' for example with moral virtues such as courage generosity & justice & intellectual virtues such as knowledge wisdom & insight The Ethics also discusses the nature of practical reasoning the value & the objects of pleasure the different forms of friendship & the relationship between individual virtue society & the State Aristotle's work has had a profound & lasting influence on all subsequent Western thought about ethical matters Aristotle (384-22 BC) studied at the Academy of Plato for 20 years & then established his own school & research institute ' The Lyceum' His writings which were of extraordinary range profoundly affected the whole course of ancient & medieval philosophy & are still eagerly studied & debated by philosophers today If you enjoyed The Nicomachean Ethics you might like Plato's The Symposium also available in Penguin Classics