Not offered 2007-2008
PHIL 333 Aristotle's Ethics (Same as Classics 333)
The lecture notes that have come to be known as "Aristotle's ethics" provide a beautiful elaboration of the idea that humans can't be happy unless they are good, and that they can't be good unless they exercise virtues such as generosity, courage, honesty (and even wit). Aristotle's ethics has inspired everyone from Thomas Aquinas, who ingeniously renovated it to mesh with Christian ideals, to Shaquille O'Neal, who cited it when explaining his strategy for improving his free-throw average (and dubbed himself "the big Aristotle"). Shaq notwithstanding, many recent commentators-sympathizers as well as detractors-have argued that Aristotle's moral philosophy cannot be renovated to fit the modern liberal state. It appears to be suited to cohesive societies, such as the ancient Greek city-state or the medieval church-state, not the ideologically diverse society that is the ideal of the modern world.
We will consider the extent to which Aristotle's virtue-centered ethics can be our ethics through a close reading of the Nicomachean Ethics. Along the way, we will pay special attention to Aristotle's (arguably problematic) views about moral development, the unity of the virtues, and weakness of the will. We will supplement our reading of the Nicomachean Ethics with some secondary texts; we may also consult parts of Aristotle's Politics and Eudemian Ethics for the light they throw on our topic.
Format: seminar. Requirements: short presentations, midterm paper, final paper.
Prerequisites: Philosophy 101 and a willingness to read a challenging text closely. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 5-15). Preference given to Philosophy majors and Classics majors.