Notes on Nicomachean Ethics 1173 a 2–5
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9665012 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gösta Grönroos (0000-0002-8426-8156, Stockholm University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 484-490 |
| Publication date | 2016-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Classical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0009-8388 • E-ISSN: 1471-6844 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0009838816000586 |
| OpenAlex | W2510654112 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 2 |
In Nicomachean Ethics (= Eth. Nic. ) 10.2, Aristotle addresses Eudoxus' argument that pleasure is the chief good in his characteristically dialectical manner. The argument is that pleasure is the chief good, since all creatures, rational (ἔλλογα) and non-rational (ἄλογα) alike, are perceived to aim at pleasure (1172 b 9–11). At 1172 b 35–1173 a 5, Aristotle turns to an objection against Eudoxus' argument. For some object (οἱ δ’ἐνιστάμενοι) to the argument by questioning one of its premisses, namely that what all creatures aim at is the good (1172 b 12–15). Instead, they claim that what all creatures aim at is not good (ὡς οὐκ ἀγαθὸν οὗ πάντ’ ἐφίεται, 1172 b 36). This claim is reasonably taken to mean that not everything that all creatures aim at is good. But, as we shall shortly see, Aristotle dismisses it in a way suggesting a less charitable interpretation. At any rate, the significance of this objection is that it challenges the strong claim that what all creatures aim at is the good with an argument against the weaker claim that what all creatures aim at is good (or a good). For if the weaker claim is refuted, then the strong claim is refuted as well. Aristotle takes issue with the argument against the weaker claim, but without committing himself to the strong claim
Argument (complex analysis · Creatures · Dialectic · Epistemology · Form of the Good · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Natural (archaeology · Object (grammar · Pleasure · Chemistry · Classical Philosophy and Thought · History · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
| Citations per year | 0.17 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2020 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |