Nicomachean Ethics
Nicomachean Ethics
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  • Publication Date: May 31, 2025
  • ISBN: 9781554816286 / 1554816289
  • 324 pages; 5½" x 8½"

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Nicomachean Ethics

  • Publication Date: May 31, 2025
  • ISBN: 9781554816286 / 1554816289
  • 324 pages; 5½" x 8½"

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is a book of enduring relevance that aims to answer the question of how human beings should live. Much, however, has changed since the time of ancient Greece, and the meanings of words aren’t static. The goal of Christopher Byrne’s new translation is thus to make Aristotle accessible to modern readers who may share in the common humanity of Aristotle’s world but don’t share his vocabulary or his culture. This goal is also served through a brisk introduction, chronologies of Aristotle’s life and of his philosophical impacts, and extensive clarifying footnotes. Also included in this edition are appendices outlining the book’s main argument and the many virtues under discussion, as well as illuminating passages from Plato, Thomas Aquinas, and Aristotle’s other writings.

Introduction

  • Aristotle: A Biographical Sketch
  • Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
  • Aristotle, Plato, and the Sophists
  • Note on this Translation
  • Note on Appendices

Aristotle: A Brief Chronology
Aristotle in the History of Philosophy: A Brief Chronology

Nicomachean Ethics

  • Book I: Human Happiness and Virtuous Action
  • Book II: Moral Virtue and The Mean
  • Book III: Choice, Deliberation, and Moral Virtue
  • Book IV: The Moral Virtues as Social Virtues
  • Book V: Justice
  • Book VI: The Intellectual Virtues
  • Book VII: Self-Control and Lack of Self-Control
  • Book VIII: Friendship
  • Book IX: Friendship and Our Duties to Others
  • Book X: Pleasure and the Pursuit of Knowledge

Appendices

  • A. The Main Argument of the Nicomachean Ethics
  • B. The Functions and Tasks of a Human Being and the Virtues They Require
  • C. Selections from Aristotle’s Politics, Book I
  • D. Selections from Plato’s Republic, Book I
  • E. Selections from Thomas Aquinas on Natural Law

Glossary of Key Terms
Select Bibliography
Index

Christopher Byrne is Associate Professor of Philosophy at St. Francis Xavier University (retired), and currently teaches at St. Joseph’s College, University of Alberta, and MacEwan University. He is author of Aristotle’s Science of Matter and Motion (2018) as well as numerous articles on Aristotle and ancient philosophy.

  • • A new, original translation written in modern English while retaining accuracy to the source text
  • • Chronologies of Aristotle’s life and of his philosophical influences and impacts are included
  • • Extensive footnote annotations clarify references that are likely to be unfamiliar to modern readers
  • • Appendices summarize the book’s main argument and the roles of the virtues
  • • Excerpts from Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, and Thomas Aquinas offer further context and points of comparison

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