October 7

In this class we begin our study of Aristotle, one of the most wide-ranging thinkers of all time and by some measures the most influential philosopher in the Western tradition. After noting the historical background against which Aristotle developed his views, we will explore how his disagreement with Plato on issues of metaphysics influences his conception of happiness (eudaimonia) as the final end for human beings. Key to this notion of our final end is the idea that human beings have a specific “function” or “work” (ergon). We will examine how Aristotle derives his theory of the good life and the idea that virtue (aretē) is crucial to living a good life from his understanding of this human function.