eBook Aristotle (Past Masters) ePub

EROROHALO

The important thing to keep in mind when evaluating this book is that it is intended to be "A Very Short Introduction" to Aristotle, not an in-depth scholarly analysis of everything that Aristotle ever wrote. In other words, the purpose of this book is to provide the reader with the basic information that he or she needs to know about Aristotle before beginning a serious study of Aristotle's work, nothing more. So, if you are looking for a book that will explain Aristotle's philosophy in detail, you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you are looking for a book that will give you a good start in learning about who Aristotle was and what he wrote about, then this is definitely the book you're looking for. In my estimation, this book strikes a good balance between biography, survey, and apologia, providing the reader with a sound grasp of who Aristotle was, what he wrote, and why he is still worth reading today. It also strikes a good balance between covering Aristotle the philosopher and Aristotle the naturalist -- between his musings about abstract matters of logic, ethics, and metaphysics, on the one hand, and his empirical observations about biology, physics, and the natural world, on the other. All in all, this book paints a well-rounded picture of Aristotle's contributions to the intellectual history of the world.

Much of this book is devoted to defending Aristotle from his modern-day critics. While the author is not at all shy about pointing out where Aristotle got it wrong (and Aristotle did get a lot of things wrong), he is quick to quash any criticism of Aristotle that he feels to be unfair -- in particular, criticism from "men who did not read Aristotle's own works with sufficient attention and who criticized him for the faults of his successors" (p. 137). Some may find the apologia woven throughout the pages of this book to be excessive; but I feel that it is justified, given the stridency of some of Aristotle's detractors. Aristotle is still important, even today. But, if you listen to his critics, you might come to the false conclusion that there is no value in studying Aristotle. So, any introduction to Aristotle has to dispel this unfortunate popular misconception right from the outset. Students need to know that they're not wasting their time reading Aristotle. Most of Aristotle's science, and much of his philosophy, has been overtaken by more recent discoveries; but there are still many things of value in Aristotle's writings -- not only in terms of our understanding of the history of ideas, where the contributions of Aristotle can scarcely be overestimated, but also in terms of our understanding of many fundamental philosophical issues that are still relevant today. So I, for one, have no problem with the author's defense of Aristotle. After all, any "very short introduction" to the work of an important thinker has to make a case to the reader why that thinker is worth studying in the first place. If you're a devout anti-Aristotelian, you may feel that this book is pure apologia, bordering on hagiography. But, personally, I feel that the apologetic aspects of this book are fully warranted, and not at all excessive, given the amount of misdirected criticism that Aristotle so often receives. As far as I'm concerned, the author's obvious love and respect for Aristotle never detracts from his ability to paint an accurate picture of Aristotle's life and work, warts and all. He doesn't try to portray Aristotle as perfect, only as misunderstood and misjudged. He even offers his own criticisms of Aristotle when those criticisms are due. He simply wants to correct some of the misperceptions that many people seem to have about Aristotle; and I can't fault him for that.

Zepavitta

This volume of the Very Short Introduction series, written by an Aristotle's scholar, provides a good overview of his works and describes the position he has in the history of philosophy. Jonathan Barnes exposed the main concepts of Aristotle's thought and his most importants works. Some interpretations of Aristotle's assertions are rebutted in favor of rival conceptions. The author himself gave his understandings about Aristotle's works. Reading this small book, one has a pretty decent view about aristotelian thought and can, if wanted, submerges in his philosophy.

PC-rider

Barnes speaks with real authority, as he highlights the most basic Aristotelian issues. whether you are an Aristotle scholar, or someone wondering about why people ever speak of Aristotle, this is a very useful book...

Ventelone

Highly informative for an amateur like myself.

Samugul

superb summary

SkroN

Barnes tries to give a unified presentation of Aristotle's work, but his method of quoting often from Aristotle's work makes the writing seem choppy. The reader does understand that reading Aristotle's work is even more unpleasant than reading this book. A better example of a short introduction that is done successfully is "Plato" by R.M. Hare, also from Oxford U. Press. I have no quarrel with the quality of the content in the book by Jonathan Barnes, just the organization that makes Aristotle's work seem disjointed and the presentation that makes the book dull.

So many philosophy books only touch the mind, not our lives. For books that touch your life I recommend "Socrates Cafe" by Christopher Phillips, although it was written to follow contemporary publishers formulas. "Achieve Lasting Happiness" by Robert Canright does not follow formulas. It is unique, but it does not follow the Greek traditions. It follows Chinese traditions, but Canright shows the Ancient Chinese had much in common with Aristotle.

Olwado

A wonderful introduction, not just to Aristotle, but to the entire fashion of Western thought that followed his genius.Genius it was but fashion it was also.

short acceptable version of aristotle.
i think it needs more information but to get an idea
of who aristotle was, it was ok without having to read 500 pages