The Aristotelian ethics : a study of the relationship between the Eudemian and Nicomachean ethics of Aristotle

338 Pages·2017·50.14 MB·English

by  Kenny

THE ARISTOTELIAN ETHICS

The Aristotelian Ethics
A Study of the Relationship between
the Eudemian and Nicomachean
Ethics of Aristotle
SECOND EDITION
ANTHONY KENNY
CLARENDON PRESS . OXFORD
2016
3
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©SirAnthonyKenny2016
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FirstEditionpublishedin1978
SecondEditionpublishedin2016
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Preface to Second Edition
In1978IpublishedTheAristotelianEthics(TAE),abookwhichhadtwo
aims. The first was to show, by stylometric as well as historical and
philosophical argument, that the books best known as books 5, 6, and 7
of the Nicomachean Ethics (NE) in fact belonged originally to the lesser
knownEudemianEthics(EE).ThesecondwastoestablishthatEEwasa
matureanddefinitivestatementofAristotle’sethicalsystem,deservingto
betakenasseriouslyasNE,andpossiblywrittenlaterthanit.Intheyears
since1978thefirstoftheseclaimshascometobewidelyaccepted,while
the second has attracted only a few supporters. In 1991, in my book
AristotleonthePerfectLife(APL)Ireturnedinanappendixtothetopicof
therelationshipbetweentheethicaltreatise.
During recent decades EE, previously much neglected, has been the
objectofintensestudybyleadingAristotelianscholars.Idecidedtherefore
toaskOUPtobringoutasecondeditionofTAEsothatIcouldassessthe
relevance of this recent work to my original claims, and defend them
against criticisms that were misguided, and modify them in the light of
criticismsthatwerejustified.
Whenthebookfirstappeared,itcontainedanunusuallylargenumber
of misprints and other typographical errors. For many of these I must
acceptresponsibility,butImustalsorecallthatitwasatimeofturmoilat
OUP,and thatproof-correction became extremelydifficult. Iam glad to
have an opportunity now, in happier times, to amend these deficiencies
and present the reader with a more respectable text. I am indebted to
those who, at the time, identified the places that needed correction, in
particular John Cooper, Friedo Ricken, and Robin Waterfield. For assis-
tance in preparing this second edition I am grateful to Jonathan Barnes,
Malcolm Schofield, Anthony Price, Lawrence Jost, Christopher Rowe,
andSubramaniamVengatakrishnan.
Oxford
March2016

Contents
ListofTables ix
SelectGlossary xi
PrefacetotheFirstEdition xiii
1. TheAristotelianEthicsinAntiquity 1
2. Cross-referencesintheEthics 50
3. TheStyleoftheTreatiseonJustice 60
4. ParticlesandConnectivesintheAristotelianEthics 70
5. Prepositions,Adverbs,andPronounsintheEthicalTreatises 113
6. TheUseofTechnicalTermsintheEthicalTreatises 137
7. WisdomintheAristotelianEthics 161
8. HappinessintheAristotelianEthics 190
9. TheDatingoftheAristotelianEthicalTreatises 215
10. Reconsiderations1992 240
11. Reconsiderations2016 272
Bibliography 306
AdditionalBibliography 312
Index 317

List of Tables