Aristotle

By Otfried Höffe
Translated by Christine Salazar

Subjects: Ancient Greek Philosophy
Series: SUNY series in Ancient Greek Philosophy
Paperback : 9780791456347, 252 pages, March 2003
Hardcover : 9780791456330, 252 pages, March 2003

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Table of contents

List of Illustrations

List of Abbreviations and Method of Citation

Preface

PART I: "THE PHILOSOPHER"?

1. The Man and His Work

 

1. 1 The Man
1. 2 The Work

 

2. Researcher, Scholar, and Philosopher

PART II: KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENCE

3. The Phenomenology of Knowledge

 

3. 1 Propaedeutic?
3. 2 An Epistemic Hierarchy
3. 3 Freedom and Self-realization

 

4. Forms of Rationality

 

4. 1 Syllogistics
4. 2 Dialectic (Topics)
4. 3 Rhetoric
4. 4 Poetics: Tragedy

 

5. Proofs and Principles

 

5. 1 A Critique of Demonstrative Reason
5. 2 Axioms and Other Principles
5. 3 Induction and Mind

 

6. Four Methodical Maxims

 

6. 1 Establishing the Phenomena
6. 2 Doctrines
6. 3 Difficulties
6. 4 Linguistic Analysis

 

PART III: PHYSICS AND METAPHYSICS

7. Natural Philosophy

 

7. 1 Aristotelian Natural Science
7. 2 Motion
7. 3 The Four Causes
7. 4 Continuum, the Infinite, Place, and Time

 

8. Biology and Psychology

 

8. 1 Aristotle the Zoologist
8. 2 Teleonomy: Organisms, Procreation, and Heredity
8. 3 The Soul

 

9. First Philosophy, or Metaphysics

10. Cosmology and Theology

 

10. 1 Meta-physics
10. 2 The Cosmological Concept of God
10. 3 An Ethical Concept of God?

 

11. Ontology and Language

 

11. 1 Categories
11. 2 Substance
11. 3 Aristotle’s Critique of Plato's Ideas
11. 4 On Language

 

PART IV: ETHICS AND POLITICS

12. Practical Philosophy

 

12. 1 The Autonomy of Ethics
12. 2 The Goal Is Action
12. 3 Outline Knowledge

 

13. Theory of Action

 

13. 1 The Basic Concept of Desire
13. 2 Decision and Power of Judgment
13. 3 Weakness of the Will
13. 4 Does Aristotle Know the Concept of Will?

 

14. The Good Life

 

14. 1 The Principle of Happiness
14. 2 The Virtues of Character
14. 3 Justice, Natural Law, and Equity
14. 4 Theoretical or Political Existence?

 

15. Political Anthropology

 

15. 1 The Relevance of the Politics
15. 2 "Political by Nature"
15. 3 Friendship and Other Prerequisites

 

16. Political Justice

 

16. 1 Elementary Inequalities
16. 2 Rule of the Free over the Free
16. 3 Democracy or Polity?

 

PART V: The RECEPTION

17. Antiquity and the Middle Ages

 

17. 1 Antiquity
17. 2 Christianity, Islam, and Judaism
17. 3 The Great Aristotelian Renaissance

 

18. The Modern Age and the Present

 

18. 1 Detachment and Renewed Interest
18. 2 Aristotle Research and Neo-Aristotelianisms

 

Chronology

Bibliography

Index of Personal Names

General Index

A comprehensive introduction to the life and work of Aristotle.

Description

Aristotle belongs to the small class of philosophers who were not only influential in a particular field of philosophy but also shaped the profile of every philosophical discipline. In this book Otfried Höffe provides a comprehensive introduction to the life and work of Aristotle, covering well-known Aristotelian topics such as ethics, politics, and metaphysics as well as the less familiar, such as biology, psychology, and rhetoric. Höffe also compares Aristotle to other major figures in the history of European (especially German) philosophy, making connections to Kant and Hegel that are particularly insightful. A picture of Aristotle emerges as a philosopher who is much more modern than previously thought, one whose writings are still relevant today and continue to make valuable contributions to many contemporary philosophical debates.

Otfried Höffe is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Tübingen and the author of many books, including Immanuel Kant, also published by SUNY Press.