Nicomachean Ethics – Books I – III

We had a great phone conversation – and before that e-mail dialogue about Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Books I – III.

To download the mp3 
audio click here:
Download Aristotle-6-9-09NichEthicsI-III

We had a great dialogue about whether:

– virtue and “good” are habits or intentions (Aristotle says they are habits)
– happiness is a “final good” – what Aristotle means by that and how 21st century westerners might understand the word “happiness” differently (i.e. Aristotle seems to say that happiness is objective and not subjective inner state as we modernists believe)
– individual and community – and how Aristotle’s emphasis seems to be on community
– the connections to prior texts we’ve read like Plato (whom Aristotle attacks directly in Book I) and Herodotus (especially the story of Solon and Croesus)
– the power of reading an ethical text that is not spiritual – i.e. many group members remarked that they found it interesting to read a philosophical treatment of ethics

See the comments below for the pre-phone call e-mail dialogue.

Thanks to HiDefConferencing, Citrix Online and Constant Contact for sponsoring our reading groups and making possible the phone calls and recordings!

Thanks,

Phil 

10. June 2009 by Arrian
Categories: Aristotle, Commentary, Reader Call | Tags: | 1 comment

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