Aristotle on the uses of contemplation / Matthew D. Walker, Yale-NUS College.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Walker, Matthew D., 1973- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aristotle.

Contemplation.

Good and evil.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 261 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Summary:

Traditionally, Aristotle is held to believe that philosophical contemplation is valuable for its own sake, but ultimately useless. In this volume, Matthew D. Walker offers a fresh, systematic account of Aristotle's views on contemplation's place in the human good. The book situates Aristotle's views against the background of his wider philosophy, and examines the complete range of available textual evidence (including neglected passages from Aristotle's Protrepticus). On this basis, Walker argues that contemplation also benefits humans as perishable living organisms by actively guiding human life activity, including human self-maintenance. Aristotle's views on contemplation's place in the human good thus cohere with his broader thinking about how living organisms live well. A novel exploration of Aristotle's views on theory and practice, this volume will interest scholars and students of both ancient Greek ethics and natural philosophy. It will also appeal to those working in other disciplines including classics, ethics, and political theory.

Contents:

Acknowledgments

Note on Texts, Translations, and Abbreviations

Chapter 1 - How Can Useless Contemplation Be Central to the Human Good?

Chapter 2 - Useless Contemplation as an Ultimate End

Chapter 3 - The Threptic Basis of Living

Chapter 4 - Authoritative Functions, Ultimate Ends, and the Good for Living Organisms

Chapter 5 - The Utility Question Restated – and How Not to Address It

Chapter 6 - The First Wave

Chapter 7 - The Second Wave

Chapter 8 - The Third Wave

Chapter 9 - The Anatomy of Aristotelian Virtue

Chapter 10 - Some Concluding Reflections

Bibliography

Index Locorum

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 16 May 2018).

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1-108-36920-0

1-108-36334-2

1-108-37298-8