One of my all time favorite works

Why?

1. Aristotle, comma Western Civilization

2. Aristotle, was first genuine scientist

3. Islamic writers absorbed Aristotle

4. Christian writers absorbed Aristotle

5. He is the, Father of Fathers for most writers, scientists of all types

6. Aristotle invented formal logic et al

Few years ago -- In Tirunelveli, I would carry this every where.

Each day, I would visit this historical church.

Inside the church, there were many historical cemeteries.

I'd sit near one of them, reading Aristotle's writings.

I would recommend this to everyone

Deus Vult
Gottfried

Read Nicomachean Ethics, De Anima, parts of Metaphysics, and Categories.

If ever a written work deserved 5 stars, surely Aristotle's do. His writings changed me as a person. I deeply admire his curiosity, his thought process, his organization, his attention to detail, and his tremendous insights into the human existence. Theories aside, it was fascinating to see how drastically his approach to philosophical thinking differed from Plato's. (And I love Plato, too.)

Brief impressions of each work I read:

1. Organon (selections from Categories, On Interpretation, Prior Analytics, and Posterior Analytics): 4 stars. I'm very glad I read this first, because the later works came back to these foundational concepts again and again. I respect and appreciate what Aristotle was doing with this work in laying the groundwork for further discussion on multiple topics. But it was very, very hard to follow.

2. Physics: 4 stars. Like Organon, this had a satisfyingly orderly structure. I really like how Aristotle lays out his position and systematically builds to his conclusions. But I definitely finished this work not really knowing what to do with it.

3. Metaphysics: 5 stars. Even though I undoubtedly understood only a fraction of its insights, it was obvious this was a work of great importance. Got me thinking about things like... What is existence? What is truth; is it relative or absolute? Do good and evil exist separate from things? What is the difference between potentiality and actuality? I'm seeing why Aristotle is often considered the most important philosopher of all time.

4. On the Soul: 5 stars. For Aristotle, soul is what gives things life. All living things have soul, including plants and animals. His famous divisions of the soul (irrational, found in plants and animals; and rational, found in humans) articulate what sets humans apart from other living things: the ability to reason. I loved the discussions on the mind and how thinking, perceiving, and imagining are distinguished.

5. Poetics: 5 stars. Applicable to books, movies, and plays even today. I loved how this showed the breadth of Aristotle's interests. The man really did it all: science, philosophy, writing.

6. Nicomachean Ethics: 5 huge stars. Aristotle defines human happiness as a certain kind of life: a life of arete, which can be translated as virtue or excellence--a state or property that makes something a good version of itself. In particular, a life of contemplation is a life of arete because it is a fulfillment of human nature. Contemplation is a function of reason (the highest human faculty) and is directed a eternal truth (the highest object). Thus, a life of contemplation of truth is perfect happiness. We often think of moral virtue when we use the word virtue, and a life of moral virtue is also happy, though to a secondary degree. Aristotle further notes that achieving happiness is not entirely within a person's control. It requires choice, yes, but also some chance/luck in having the necessary external goods.

7. Politics: 5 stars. Ethics examined the good for the individual; Politics examines the good for the community. Its influence on the founding of America's government is undeniable and engrossing. I also liked how Aristotle did not dwell on the "ideal state" and instead spent a lot of time considering the achievable state.

8. Rhetoric: 5 stars. Useful, understandable, and practical for understanding how to persuade. I still admire Aristotle's meticulous and thorough analysis and conclusions, even when the topic is not one of deep philosophical thought.

This work is 1487 pages long. It is not the sort of book I read from start to finish but rather read chapters of it from time to time. I'll admit some of it is beyond me, some of it is obsolete thought but most of it is interesting if for nothing more than a good insight of what the ancients thought.

importance of human mind

(not rating, read for class)

I read about 25% of this for a history of philosophy class. Clearly, Aristotle is brilliant. He's also very hard to understand at points. It's helpful to read with a guide although certainly not necessary.

I really enjoyed discovering in Aristotle philosophical terms and categories with which I was already familiar from church history and early theological development.

Best grouping of the books of Aristotle.

If I knew nothing about modern science then I would’ve believed him when he said all motion were originated from floaty spheres that were also gods

<3

OH MY GOD I finally finished this monster. There was a lot of cool stuff to read and think about in this HUGE ass book but it's worth it. Of course you can take the easy route and just find smaller volumes that focus on one or two of this subjects. Physics and Metaphysics were the hardest to get through. Politics was actually enlightening I highly reccomend it. Rhetoric and Poetics are great and I actually bought a small volume of those two but it only has book three of Rhetoric which focuses on style. Aristotle can be summed up in one short sentence...That dude had a lot on his mind!!! I love going through Greek culture and history and I have been wanting to dive into Aristotle, I got this book started in AUGUST, man it was a lot of reading and I was sidetracked with other reads too but I got through this baby and it was worth it..expand your mind, read Aristotle just allow yourself a LOT of time to work through this thing if you get the collection here.

aristotle>plato