A New Aristotle Reader

by J.L. Ackrill

PhilosophyReligion/Philosophy

Genres: Philosophy, Classics, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Textbooks, Ancient, Science

580 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1987

Reviews

[pearl · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far still in "Physics", but reading it makes me feel like I'm swallowing cottonballs. Or reading Gertrude Stein. Holy shit.

[Nathan Casebolt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only old geezers like me remember Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. You youngsters can pull up a chair and let me tell you about these, which contained anywhere from three to six books abridged and squished into one hardback volume. I liked them as a free-spirited child. Now, as a neurotic adult, I shudder at the thought of reading a book without actually reading the whole book.

And yet, here I find myself again, catapulted back to my childhood and reading a condensed version of Aristotle’s works. I comfort myself with the knowledge that I spent huge chunks of 2023 and 2024 reading the complete works, and hasten to reassure one and all that I didn’t use this book to cheat.

Not that there’s anything wrong with cheating on Aristotle. His complete works are a beast, and modern collections include essays authored by the equivalent of ancient AI writing philosophy “in the style of” the master. They’re useful for understanding his influence, but these spurious works aren’t necessary if all you want is the genuine article.

For that, this one-volume distillation of the essential Aristotle is just what the doctor (of philosophy?) ordered. Of course, the editor’s introduction is swimming in caveats. Deep cuts had to be made, from paragraphs to chapters to books. Plus, what we have of Aristotle’s works are often draft copies or outline notes for lectures, and thus are already elliptical or truncated even before modern editors sharpen their knives.

All of that being said, this is an excellent boiled-down version of the thinker whose thoughts still shape our world. My journey through the complete works is fresh enough that I could vibe-check this reader against them, and the vibes are good. I feel that J. L. Ackrill’s editorial decisions produced a book much more accessible to those who aren’t willing to invest in 3000 pages of Greek philosophy.

That isn’t to say this is easy reading. There’s no way to make Aristotle easy without dumbing him down into something he wasn’t. But if you want a quick hit of the Nicomachean Ethics or Politics or (God forbid) Metaphysics, this is a much less steep climb for a view that’s still worth the hike.

[Mario · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aristotle clearly had a magnificent mind for constructing and debating logical arguments, but I'm not convinced that most of his work doesn't simply boil down to semantics. He is more concerned with how things are referred to than what they really are, and it destroys his work in Natural Philosophy and Metaphysics, because many of his questions now have answers, so we can see where his logic fails. His work on Practical Philosophy has more lingering value, but you have to be willing to accept and account for his now obvious blindspots (for instance, with women), or you'll walk away from it either hating him or with terrible ideas about government and economics.

[Leverkühn · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the works within are 5*. The Reader is quite good but, as with many readers, it cuts out small sections of major works in order to fit in small fragments of a number of assorted works that could have been left out. Give us the full Logic, Politics, Nicomachean ethics, De Anima, Metaphysics, cut out the stuff on animals and a few others, and it would be perfect.

[Jared Mindel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aristotle is so boring, but he's very good when you understand him. Recommend this work, but there are definitely portions you can skip. I also recommend at least one secondary source to understand and synthesize his stuff.

[Nilab]

assigned: [Nicomachean Ethics, Bk I, II; III: 1-5, 10-12; VI: 1-7, 12, 13; VII 1-3; VIII 1-6; IX, 4, 8, 9; X, 6-8.]; Hylomorphism [Categories, 1-5; Physics I.7-9, Physics II (complete); De Anima I.1-4, II.1-5, III.4-5; [Metaphysics I.1-2, XII.1-7. 9-10]

[Rifat Islam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the function argument in Ethics and the discussion about art and its relationship to nature (recalled Dante thinking usury is a perversion of art)

[Elias]

Read a decent chunk of this - it’s like the translator was trying to make this already hard text as confusing as possible

[Kiran Yeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

he's interesting but is also kinda weird

[sam torres]

Nicomachean Ethics, Physics, Metaphysics, De Anima

[Sameer Brohi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too advanced for me lol

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aristotle was a prolific writer and has approximately 40 written works credited to him (even more if you include the ones historically attributed to him but disagreed by those who claim themselves some authority). Well over two dozen of these writings fall into discussions regarding either Natural Philosophy or Logic.

It’s for that reason I read A New Aristotle Reader. The first half of the book is devoted to selected excerpts of some of the major Physics and Logic works. Quite frankly, unless one wishes to read with pen in hand, and chart out the logical progressions presented in Prior Analytics and Posterior Analytics there probably is little to be gained for the casual reader of his Logic works. Many arguments can be followed tenuously simply by following along, but the real goal of the work seems to dedicate the reader to breaking down arguments into components for logical analysis. Think of it like a classic Greek workbook for the LSAT.

Additionally, the substantial works under the category Natural Philosophy will probably yield little to most modern readers as well. Aristotle is praised for his contributions to the systemization of scientific thought. But I’m not sure what that leaves for the reader today other than historical trivia. His conclusions on the mechanism of the heavens, dreams, animal reproduction, aging and many other natural phenomena are presented throughout his prolific writings. Of course, in light of what we know today, he’s wrong. His taxonomic tendencies were probably unparalleled in the ancient world, but it’s somewhat disheartening to read the numerous works relying on theory which lead to such an excessive collection of conclusions disproved by empirical evidence.

It makes one pause when considering how such thinking can lead astray when dealing with unprovables such as ethics, metaphysics and politics.

I abandoned A New Aristotle Reader after reading the selections on Logic and Natural Philosophy. Given that more weight is given today to his Metaphysics and Practical Philosophy categories, it seemed more appropriate to read unabridged versions of Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Eudemian Ethics, Politics and Poetics. However, the excerpts provided in A New Aristotle Reader has given me a taste of Aristotle’s efforts in the scientific realm even if I am left without a full appreciation of his contributions.

[Ronald Wise · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of writings by ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. For the most part, an extremely tedious read — some of his recursive explanations reminded me of Monty Python skits. But as with reading all ancient materials, I was both comforted and disturbed by how consistent human reasoning has been over the millennia. This book was added to my list after enjoying another of the author's books, Aristotle the Philosopher.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good smattering of Aristotle's texts and major ideas. Includes all of or major portions of Physics, On the Heavens, On the Soul, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, and Poetics, among other works.

[Wanda Kosakiewics · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Aristotle but loathe this translation. His translations are way off. For instance in Aristotle's Metaphysics he screws up how art arises. I do not think this translator understands the essence of techne and that is why he is a lousy teacher of Aristotle.