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Nicomachean Ethics
9.5Aristotle
Aristotle's treatise on how to live well — the foundational text of Western moral philosophy and still, after twenty-three centuries, the clearest account of human flourishing ever written.
GBM Assessment (Score: 9.5/10)
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is the foundation of Western ethical philosophy, introducing the concepts of virtue ethics, eudaimonia (human flourishing), and the central importance of friendship to the good life. Thomas Aquinas built Catholic moral theology upon its framework, ensuring that Aristotle's ethical vision would shape Western civilization for centuries to come.
Penned at the Lyceum in Athens, the Nicomachean Ethics became the keystone of Christian moral philosophy when Aquinas synthesized it with Christian theology in the thirteenth century. In 1981, Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue revived Aristotelian ethics for the modern era, sparking a renaissance in virtue-based moral philosophy.
Philosophy's Golden Age, c. 400-300 BC
Plato founds the Academy (387 BC) and writes his dialogues. Aristotle founds the Lyceum and systematizes every field. In China, the Dao De Jing emerges during the Warring States period. Alexander conquers from Greece to India, spreading Greek culture. Euclid compiles his Elements in Ptolemaic Alexandria. The Hellenistic age begins.
Awards & Adaptations
Core in every philosophy/ethics curriculum.
Recommended Edition
H. Rackham (Loeb 1926); W.D. Ross (1925)
