mraymer9's review against another edition
4.0
I was all set to give this three stars, but then Aristotle really got it out in the last few chapters of Book 10. After so many pages of what felt like a heavily descriptive account of the virtues with very little actual advice about how to live an ethical life, I was delighted when the final pages were packed full of useful musings on how to best go about putting Aristotle's views into practice. I strongly agree with his position that political structures and societal laws ought to be concerned with the project of nudging (not forcing) people toward virtuous behavior when they might otherwise stray into corruption. I also find his account of friendship both endearing and strikingly accurate. Though many observations in this work feel outdated, most of Aristotle's arguments about the nature and importance of friendship feel as true today as they must have been in ancient Greece.
Here's my one complaint: while I was beguiled by the suggestion that the contemplative life is the most desirable, it's a rather dispiriting conclusion for folks who don't necessarily enjoy intellectual pursuits. The major flaw in this book, if there is one, is that it at least partly falls into the trap of so many other works of philosophy by suggesting that philosophizing is far and away the best way of being in the world. And while this is certainly true for those whose natures lead them in such a direction, it is unfair to those who excel in activities and labors that don't require a lot of headwork. So although Aristotle is in many ways forgiving of our human flaws and flexible in his accommodation of different dispositions and tastes, he does come off as unfairly biased toward intellectually-minded individuals.
Though this isn't a tough book conceptually as far as philosophy goes, I didn't much like the style of writing. Not sure if that is due more to Aristotle's original text or to Bartlett and Collins' translation. Something about the syntax had me scratching my head over seemingly simple sentences. I didn't find the text impenetrable, but I was surprised at how often I had to read paragraphs over and over to follow what ended up being a rather simple point. Still, I encountered enough gems of practical wisdom along the way to make the book feel worthwhile.
Here's my one complaint: while I was beguiled by the suggestion that the contemplative life is the most desirable, it's a rather dispiriting conclusion for folks who don't necessarily enjoy intellectual pursuits. The major flaw in this book, if there is one, is that it at least partly falls into the trap of so many other works of philosophy by suggesting that philosophizing is far and away the best way of being in the world. And while this is certainly true for those whose natures lead them in such a direction, it is unfair to those who excel in activities and labors that don't require a lot of headwork. So although Aristotle is in many ways forgiving of our human flaws and flexible in his accommodation of different dispositions and tastes, he does come off as unfairly biased toward intellectually-minded individuals.
Though this isn't a tough book conceptually as far as philosophy goes, I didn't much like the style of writing. Not sure if that is due more to Aristotle's original text or to Bartlett and Collins' translation. Something about the syntax had me scratching my head over seemingly simple sentences. I didn't find the text impenetrable, but I was surprised at how often I had to read paragraphs over and over to follow what ended up being a rather simple point. Still, I encountered enough gems of practical wisdom along the way to make the book feel worthwhile.
josiahdegraaf's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not quite sure how to attach a review to something as influential in the history of the world as Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is. Such reviews often say more about the person reading it than it does the actual work.
With that in mind, here were my reflections after reading the book. The first couple sections of the book on the nature of virtue and the last couple sections on the nature of friendship were really helpful for me, brought up a number of interesting points, and made their arguments well. I had a hard time seeing the value of the middle sections focused on defining different virtues and character qualities since a lot of the careful distinctions Aristotle made seemed to be... less than valuable for everyday living? As mentioned above, this probably says more about me than it says about the book, and if I were going through this with an experienced teacher of Aristotle, I might have been able to see a lot more in these sections than I did. But for myself, I struggled getting through those sections.
One final thing. The homeschool curriculum that had the bright idea of assigning me this book to read in 10th grade in the interest of making sure students received a well-rounded classical education was nuts. I'm a huge proponent of classical education, but this is not a book for 10th graders (at least not without a very close reading done under the guidance of an experienced teacher). I don't think I got much anything out of this book the first time I read it, and it was only with the philosophical background I've gained in college and from teaching ancient Hellenic literature since then that I was able to get as much out of it as I could. Works like this are meant to be read slowly and carefully after someone has cultivated a rich background knowledge of philosophy, not skimmed through over the course of two weeks just to check another box next to a massive high school reading list.
/rant
Rating: 4 Stars (Very Good).
With that in mind, here were my reflections after reading the book. The first couple sections of the book on the nature of virtue and the last couple sections on the nature of friendship were really helpful for me, brought up a number of interesting points, and made their arguments well. I had a hard time seeing the value of the middle sections focused on defining different virtues and character qualities since a lot of the careful distinctions Aristotle made seemed to be... less than valuable for everyday living? As mentioned above, this probably says more about me than it says about the book, and if I were going through this with an experienced teacher of Aristotle, I might have been able to see a lot more in these sections than I did. But for myself, I struggled getting through those sections.
One final thing. The homeschool curriculum that had the bright idea of assigning me this book to read in 10th grade in the interest of making sure students received a well-rounded classical education was nuts. I'm a huge proponent of classical education, but this is not a book for 10th graders (at least not without a very close reading done under the guidance of an experienced teacher). I don't think I got much anything out of this book the first time I read it, and it was only with the philosophical background I've gained in college and from teaching ancient Hellenic literature since then that I was able to get as much out of it as I could. Works like this are meant to be read slowly and carefully after someone has cultivated a rich background knowledge of philosophy, not skimmed through over the course of two weeks just to check another box next to a massive high school reading list.
/rant
Rating: 4 Stars (Very Good).
harrymcdonough's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
hannahbananali's review against another edition
3.0
Not a fan of philosophy, but Aristotle does a decent job at not making me too bored.
Also his thoughts on Ethics are quite influential. That too.
Also his thoughts on Ethics are quite influential. That too.
dzengota's review against another edition
2.0
Had a terrible whiplash moment shortly into the book. The whole book is written in a conversational tone (the text primarily copied from Aristotle's lectures, not written by his hand) so it was initially easy to read. That conversationalism however, lead the book from being simple to parse, understand and internalize to a jumbled and repetitive mess. I recommend the first couple chapters as they lay the groundwork for the rest of the text, but I do not recommend sitting through the regurgitation of identical points that follow. Other chapters later in the book, specifically sections on the meaning of wisdom and its intersection with the idea of self-control as well as the chapter on pleasure and pain are also worth reading but will be harder to internalize lacking the rest of the text.