Daniel Wolt
Biographic Data
| ID | 5639532 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Daniel Wolt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Daniel |
| FAMILY NAME | Wolt |
| SIGNATURE | WOLT D |
| AFFILIATIONS | Bilkent University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4815-3789 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 8 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Eutuchia and Nature in Eudemian Ethics VIII.2
Eudemian Ethics VIII.2 presents a paradox: Aristotle appears to allow that eupragia is possible without phronēsis . I interpret the chapter by reading eutuchia as a form of natural virtue. Unlike other defenders of this view, however, I argue that VIII.2 diverges sharply from Nicomachean Ethics VI.13, which is far less receptive to nature as a source of ethical success. Comparing the two treatises reveals a broader pattern: the Eudemian Ethics sh…
Nietzsche’s Greek pessimism
Despite his opposition to Schopenhauerian pessimism, Nietzsche repeatedly characterizes himself as a pessimist of sorts. Here I attempt to take this assertion seriously and offer an interpretation of in what sense Nietzsche can be called a pessimist. I suggest that Nietzsche’s pessimism has to do not with life in general, but with life in its common form: such life is bad because it is characterized by meaningless suffering, and lacks aesthetic v…
Philosophy and politics in Julian’s Letter to Themistius
Julian’s Letter to Themistius is one of our most valuable sources for understanding Julian’s political thought. More specifically, it is perhaps our most valuable source for investigating the extent to which Julian’s approach to governance was or was not influenced by his philosophical commitments. Here I focus on this question and argue that, understood in its proper intellectual context, the Letter provides us with good reason for thinking that…
Phronêsis and Kalokagathia in Eudemian Ethics VIII.3
In Eudemian Ethics VIII.3, Aristotle treats a virtue that he calls kalokagathia, "nobility-and-goodness." This virtue appears to be quite important, and he even identifies it with "perfect virtue" (EEVIII.3, 1249a17). This makes it puzzling that the Nicomachean Ethics, a text that largely parallels the Eudemian Ethics, does not discuss kalokagathia at all. I argue that the reason for this difference has to do with the role that the intellectual v…
Energeia in the Magna Moralia
There is no clear consensus among scholars about the authenticity of the Magna Moralia . Here I present a new case for thinking that the work was composed by a later Peripatetic, and is not, either directly or indirectly, the work of Aristotle. My argument rests on an analysis of the author’s usage of ἐνέργεια , which is a fruitful way to investigate the date of the work: the term was apparently coined by Aristotle but in later antiquity came to …
Two conceptions of voluntary action in the Nicomachean Ethics
It is nearly universally agreed among commentators that according to Aristotle's account of voluntary action in the Nicomachean Ethics ( NE ), only voluntary actions are blameworthy. I argue for a qualified rejection of this assumption: some actions that Aristotle counts as blameworthy do not meet the criteria for voluntariness set out in NE 3.1. However, in NE 3.5 and elsewhere, one finds a broader conception of voluntary action, and it is true …
Kant on Free Will and Theoretical Rationality
The focus of this essay is Kant’s argument in the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (GMS) III that regarding oneself as rational implies regarding oneself as free. After setting out an interpretation of how the argument is meant to go (§§1-2), I argue that Kant fails to show that regarding oneself as free is incompatible with accepting universal causal determinism (§3). However, I argue that the argument succeeds in showing that regarding …
ἈΡΧΗ ΠΡΑΞΕΩΝ ΙΝ Aristotle'S Eudemian Ethics II 6, 1223a9–16
Eudemian Ethics II 6 is meant to introduce Aristotle's discussion of voluntary action in II 7–9. The majority of II 6, however, consists of a somewhat obscure discussion of the ways in which humans, alone among animals, are origins of action (ἀρχαὶ πράξεων). It is not at all clear how that topic is meant to relate to the topic of voluntary action until the following passage, towards the end of the chapter, in which Aristotle relates being the cau…
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Kant on Free Will and Theoretical Rationality
The focus of this essay is Kant’s argument in the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (GMS) III that regarding oneself as rational implies regarding oneself as free. After setting out an interpretation of how the argument is meant to go (§§1-2), I argue that Kant fails to show that regarding oneself as free is incompatible with accepting universal causal determinism (§3). However, I argue that the argument succeeds in showing that regarding …
ἈΡΧΗ ΠΡΑΞΕΩΝ ΙΝ Aristotle'S Eudemian Ethics II 6, 1223a9–16
Eudemian Ethics II 6 is meant to introduce Aristotle's discussion of voluntary action in II 7–9. The majority of II 6, however, consists of a somewhat obscure discussion of the ways in which humans, alone among animals, are origins of action (ἀρχαὶ πράξεων). It is not at all clear how that topic is meant to relate to the topic of voluntary action until the following passage, towards the end of the chapter, in which Aristotle relates being the cau…
Two conceptions of voluntary action in the Nicomachean Ethics
It is nearly universally agreed among commentators that according to Aristotle's account of voluntary action in the Nicomachean Ethics ( NE ), only voluntary actions are blameworthy. I argue for a qualified rejection of this assumption: some actions that Aristotle counts as blameworthy do not meet the criteria for voluntariness set out in NE 3.1. However, in NE 3.5 and elsewhere, one finds a broader conception of voluntary action, and it is true …
Energeia in the Magna Moralia
There is no clear consensus among scholars about the authenticity of the Magna Moralia . Here I present a new case for thinking that the work was composed by a later Peripatetic, and is not, either directly or indirectly, the work of Aristotle. My argument rests on an analysis of the author’s usage of ἐνέργεια , which is a fruitful way to investigate the date of the work: the term was apparently coined by Aristotle but in later antiquity came to …
Phronêsis and Kalokagathia in Eudemian Ethics VIII.3
In Eudemian Ethics VIII.3, Aristotle treats a virtue that he calls kalokagathia, "nobility-and-goodness." This virtue appears to be quite important, and he even identifies it with "perfect virtue" (EEVIII.3, 1249a17). This makes it puzzling that the Nicomachean Ethics, a text that largely parallels the Eudemian Ethics, does not discuss kalokagathia at all. I argue that the reason for this difference has to do with the role that the intellectual v…
Philosophy and politics in Julian’s Letter to Themistius
Julian’s Letter to Themistius is one of our most valuable sources for understanding Julian’s political thought. More specifically, it is perhaps our most valuable source for investigating the extent to which Julian’s approach to governance was or was not influenced by his philosophical commitments. Here I focus on this question and argue that, understood in its proper intellectual context, the Letter provides us with good reason for thinking that…
Nietzsche’s Greek pessimism
Despite his opposition to Schopenhauerian pessimism, Nietzsche repeatedly characterizes himself as a pessimist of sorts. Here I attempt to take this assertion seriously and offer an interpretation of in what sense Nietzsche can be called a pessimist. I suggest that Nietzsche’s pessimism has to do not with life in general, but with life in its common form: such life is bad because it is characterized by meaningless suffering, and lacks aesthetic v…
Eutuchia and Nature in Eudemian Ethics VIII.2
Eudemian Ethics VIII.2 presents a paradox: Aristotle appears to allow that eupragia is possible without phronēsis . I interpret the chapter by reading eutuchia as a form of natural virtue. Unlike other defenders of this view, however, I argue that VIII.2 diverges sharply from Nicomachean Ethics VI.13, which is far less receptive to nature as a source of ethical success. Comparing the two treatises reveals a broader pattern: the Eudemian Ethics sh…
Philosophy (7 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · Classical Philosophy and Thought (4 works) · Philosophical Ethics and Theory (4 works) · Economics (3 works) · Philosophy (3 works) · Psychology (3 works) · Law (2 works) · Meta-ethics (2 works) · Normative ethics (2 works)