Category Archives: aristotle

Notes on a Lecture of Susan D. Collins – “E Pluribus Unum: Citizens, Friends, and Free Thinkers in the Ancient City”

These are my notes; feedback appreciated, I did what I could to be clear. You can watch the original lecture here. Susan Collins teaches at the University of Houston and is the co-author of a translation of Aristotle’s Ethics. If you’re interested, an interview with her. Can ancient thought guide current political practice? There are …

April 25, 2013 – 10:20 pm | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy, politics | Comments (0)

Notes on a talk of Ronna Burger concerning Aristotle’s Ethics

Privileged to witness Ronna Burger lecture on her book Aristotle’s Dialogue with Socrates: On the Nicomachean Ethics. Below are my notes, rewritten into a straight lecture and with some ideas that are definitely not Dr. Burger’s. I take full responsibility for anything said that is stupid or problematic. I guess this is a paraphrase of …

November 6, 2012 – 6:30 pm | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy | Tagged | Comments (0)

Aristotle’s Criticism of Thales: Metaphysics 983b17 – 984a5

Of Thales we know virtually nothing. However, Aristotle’s comment on his thought in-and-of itself is worthwhile: For there must be some nature, either one or multiple, out of which the other things come into being while that one is preserved. About the number and kind of such sources, however, they do not all say the …

October 22, 2011 – 10:35 pm | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy | Comments (6)

Ancients and Moderns: On Aristotle’s Politics I.1 (1252a 1-25)

The Aristotle quoted below is from the Carnes Lord translation of the Politics (University of Chicago Press, 1985). 1. Aristotle opens and immediately challenges us and our modern world: Since we see that every city is some sort of partnership, and that every partnership is constituted for the sake of some good (for everyone does …

September 28, 2011 – 4:01 am | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy, politics | Comments (1)

A Note on the Term “Essence”

I use the term “essence” a lot, and I sorta regret/sorta don’t regret doing that because it does oversimplify issues. It also provides a good-enough introduction to thinking without getting lost in too much jargon or too many distinctions. I throw plenty of those at you. Nonetheless, I should have posted this earlier, from Joe …

April 14, 2009 – 9:32 am | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy | Comments (2)

Creating Statesmen, Part 1: Aristotlean Natural Right

All material quoted below is from Leo Strauss’ Natural Right and History, “Classic Natural Right,” pp. 156-164 1. We begin by distinguishing between nature (Gk. physis) and convention (Gk. nomos). Convention we are all familiar with – men make words and laws; proper practice establishes something as a convention. Money is the ultimate extension of …

September 3, 2008 – 9:41 am | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy, politics | Tagged | Comments (3)

Do Money and Material Gain Taint Thought, or Validity of Opinion? On Aristotle’s Ethics, Bk. 2 Chp. 7

As always, any Aristotle quoted or cited comes from Joe Sachs’ version of the Ethics. If you are interested in other things I’ve written on Aristotle, or the discussions preceding this one, see the index above. Josh asked very directly, and very nicely, if money taints opinion. It would seem “selling out” is bad because …

May 16, 2007 – 9:37 pm | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy | Tagged , | Comments (1)

How do Knowledge and Virtue Relate? On Aristotle’s Ethics, Bk. 2 Chp. 4

The translation of the Ethics used below is Joe Sachs’. The quotes are from Bk. 2, Chapter 4 (1105 a17 – 1105 b18) The issue is locating the key problem in the opening paragraph of Aristotle’s chapter. We will begin with a part of it and skip ahead in the chapter to shed light on …

April 30, 2007 – 4:10 pm | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy | Tagged | Comments (0)

On the Good: Comment on Aristotle’s Ethics, Bk. 1 Chp. 6

Translations of quoted material below and citations are from/of Joe Sachs’ translation, published by Focus, 2002. The essay is as difficult as it gets and is highly, highly speculative. 1. Background: The Audience of the Ethics Aristotle begins by saying he wants to “examine the universal good and go through the difficulties in the way …

April 20, 2007 – 9:30 am | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy, plato | Tagged | Comments (0)

Are There Purely Formal Considerations in Politics? A Comment on Aristotle’s "Politics," Bk. 2 Ch. 9, First Paragraph

for Glen Thurow Note: All quotes of Aristotle’s are from Carnes Lord’s translation of the Politics, pub. by the University of Chicago Press. A recent discussion on secession which treated the issue as if it in-and-of itself had no moral content, as if it were something like taking out the garbage or doing problems in …

April 10, 2007 – 12:46 pm | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, politics | Tagged | Comments (0)