A review of Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics”

“The best writings of antiquity upon government those I mean of Aristotle, Zeno and Cicero are lost. We have human nature, society, and universal history to observe and study, and from these we may draw, all the real principles which ought to be regarded.”

– John Adams, in a letter to Samuel Adams (18 October 1790)

Surprisingly, I actually found it easier to read Aristotle (in the original Greek, at least) than Plato

I have read Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics” in the original Ancient Greek. Specifically, I read the work from February 2023 to May 2025. (More about why I learned Ancient Greek here, and more about how exactly I learned the language here.) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the work. It was one of the most interesting works that I’ve ever had the privilege to read. Before undertaking this work, I had been reading some works by Plato instead, including Plato’s lengthy work “Republic.” But I had been somewhat worried about undertaking to read Aristotle, because of a quote from the historian Will Durant. Specifically, Will Durant once quipped that “We must not expect of Aristotle such literary brilliance as floods the pages of the dramatist-philosopher Plato. Instead of giving us great literature, in which philosophy is embodied (and obscured) in myth and imagery, Aristotle gives us science, technical, abstract, concentrated; if we go to him for entertainment we shall sue for the return of our money.” (See the same quotation at the beginning of this blog post for the relevant citation.) After hearing this quote, I was figuring that Aristotle would thus be harder for me to read than Plato. But my reaction was actually the opposite. That is, I actually found Aristotle easier to read (in the original, at least) than Plato.

Aristotle

A review of “Science in Antiquity” (audiobook)

People have been curious about the natural world for as long as human beings have existed. The scientific impulse began very early in our history, and it continues today in full force. But its progress began to accelerate when the Sumerians (or perhaps the Egyptians) invented writing for the first time. Some consider this the beginning of “ancient history” (the meaning of “antiquity”). This is because everything before that is considered “prehistory,” rather than “history.” The invention of writing also meant that the discoveries of one generation could now be passed down to the next, and that people could thus learn from their ancestors. This saved them from having to rediscover scientific truths for themselves, and thus allowed the progress of science to accelerate a little more rapidly.

A review of “Plato” (audiobook)

“The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”

– Alfred North Whitehead, “Process and Reality” (1929)

This audiobook was my introduction to the Knowledge Products series of audiobooks. This particular audiobook is what got me hooked on the others. I love their way of introducing you to the thinkers covered. In particular, I love the way that they place these thinkers’ ideas into the context of their times, and give biographical information about the authors.

“Man is the measure of all things” … or is he?

“It is indeed the opinion of Protagoras, who has another way of expressing it. Man, he says, is the measure of all things, of the existence of things that are, and of the non-existence of things that are not.”

– Socrates, as recorded in Plato’s “Theaetetus”

Is all truth in the “eye of the beholder?” Protagoras thought so, but Socrates didn’t …

Socrates and Plato both reported some words from the Greek sophist Protagoras, in Plato’s dialogue “Theaetetus.” The dialogue features a character by the name of “Socrates,” believed here to represent the actual and historical Socrates. The character of “Socrates” thus quotes Protagoras as saying that “Man is the measure of all things.” Thus, we seem to have the word of both Plato and Socrates that Protagoras really said this. But what does it mean that “Man is the measure of all things”? As Socrates correctly argues, it seems to mean that all truth is in the “eye of the beholder” – or, at least, that Protagoras believed this to be the case. “If I believe that something is true,” say some today, “then it must be true.” But this belief leads to a number of problematic conclusions, as Socrates proceeds to point out in this same dialogue, the “Theaetetus” – named after one of the other characters in the dialogue. Nonetheless, some today (notably certain postmodernists) still proclaim that all truth is in the “eye of the beholder.” It is acknowledged that some things really do work this way, but it would seem that other things do not. Thus, this dialogue is a timeless meditation on objective truth whose arguments need to be heard today. Thus, it may be worth examining here in this post.

Socrates

A review of “Aristotle” (audiobook)

“We must not expect of Aristotle such literary brilliance as floods the pages of the dramatist-philosopher Plato. Instead of giving us great literature, in which philosophy is embodied (and obscured) in myth and imagery, Aristotle gives us science, technical, abstract, concentrated; if we go to him for entertainment we shall sue for the return of our money.”

– Will Durant’s “The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers” (1926), Chapter 2, Section 2

Aristotle is one of the most influential philosophers in all of world history. More than 2,000 years after his death, his name is still known, and his works are still studied. I knew his name early in my childhood, but did not examine his ideas until early college. My first philosophy class introduced me to Aristotle, and made me want to learn a bit more about him. As it turned out, my dad already had this audiobook about him by this time. Thus, the two of us listened to it on a moderately long road trip. My dad had already listened to it, but I had not – although I had listened to a similar audiobook about Plato by the same company (Knowledge Products). I greatly enjoyed this audiobook (my second from this series), and it helps that Charlton Heston is narrating it. Nonetheless, this audiobook makes one’s brain hurt after a while.

A few problems with Plato’s “Republic” (and his ideal state)

“You know also that the beginning is the most important part of any work, especially in the case of a young and tender thing; for that is the time at which the character is being formed and the desired impression is more readily taken.”

– Plato’s “Republic” (written around 375 BC), Book II – spoken through the character of “Socrates,” whose depiction in “The Republic” probably does not represent the actual views of the historical Socrates (although his depiction in some other Plato dialogues may really do so)

I recently finished reading Plato’s “Republic” in the original Greek …

My first encounter with the ideas of Plato was in an intro to philosophy class in 2005. I became particularly interested in his work “The Republic,” and later read the work in English translation during the winter of 2006-2007. At that time, it was for my own amusement, and I read it all the way through in English. Later, the book was assigned for an intro to ethics class in 2009 (which was also a philosophy class). But this time, it was for an accelerated summer class, so I was forced to limit myself to just the assigned parts of it. I figured that if I had read the work all the way through long before this, then I didn’t need to read the entire work this time around. Later on, I learned the Ancient Greek language. Thus, I was brave enough to want to tackle the entirety of “The Republic” in the original. Now, I have finally finished doing so – a task that took me roughly four years. (Specifically, I read it from February 2019 through February 2023.)

Plato

A review of “Stoics and Epicureans” (audiobook)

There’s a brief mention of the Epicureans and Stoics in the New Testament. Specifically, in “The Acts of the Apostles,” it is said that “certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks” encountered Paul the Apostle (Source: Acts 17:18). I will leave the discussion of this famous encounter to my footnote in this blog post. But suffice it to say here that they were two of the most popular philosophical schools of the classical world. Many Greeks and Romans came from these schools.

A review of “Socrates” (audiobook)

“That’s the strange thing about writing, which makes it truly analogous to painting. The painter’s products stand before us as though they were alive: but if you question them, they maintain a most majestic silence. It is the same with written words: they seem to talk to you as though they were intelligent, but if you ask them anything about what they say, from a desire to be instructed, they go on telling you the same thing for ever.”

– Socrates, as recorded in Plato’s “Phaedrus”

Before listening to this audiobook, I had read all the primary sources about the trial of Socrates in the original Greek. Thus, I already knew much about that part of his life before listening to this audiobook. I had also gleaned some information about other parts of his life from some other sources. But I still learned a few things from this audiobook. In particular, I enjoyed their presentation of his life story, and what we know about it from the writings of that time.

A review of “Classical Religions and Myths of the Mediterranean Basin” (audiobook)

“Declare, O Muse! in what ill-fated hour

Sprung the fierce strife, from what offended power

Latona’s son a dire contagion spread,

And heap’d the camp with mountains of the dead …”

– Homer’s “Iliad,” Book 1 (as translated by Alexander Pope) – which thus dedicates the “Iliad” to Greek goddesses known as “Muses”

So I recently listened to a three-hour audiobook called “Classical Religions and Myths of the Mediterranean Basin.” When I took a comparative world religions class some years ago, it was focused almost exclusively on modern religions. Therefore, it didn't really cover these older religions that are mostly gone today.

It was thus good to hear from these people about the early religions of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Asia Minor, Canaan, Greece, and Rome. It was also good to hear from them about how the literature and culture of these religions may have influenced the world in which the Hebrew and Christian scriptures took place. I thought that they may have carried their argument a bit too far at times, when they argued that the stories of this prior mythology may have influenced the stories of Judaism and Christianity, as found in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Nonetheless, I thought that they were much more solid on handling the beliefs of these other religions, as this was clearly written by people who had studied the subject in some detail.

Ra-Horakhty, a combined Ancient Egyptian deity of Horus and Ra

Some thoughts about classical education

“[Chaerephon] went to Delphi and boldly asked the oracle to tell him … whether anyone was wiser than I was, and the Pythian prophetess answered, that there was no man wiser.”

“When I heard the answer, I said to myself, What can the god mean? and what is the interpretation of his riddle? for I know that I have no wisdom, small or great. What then can he mean when he says that I am the wisest of men?”

– Socrates at his trial, as recorded in Plato's “Apology”

Classical education, in this context, is the study of Ancient Greece and Rome

Classical education, in this context, is the study of Ancient Greece and Rome. It was once all the rage in Western schools, but that changed drastically in the 1960s. At that time, some thought the subject to be too focused on the “dead white guys” (as they saw them). There was also an increased focus on math and science education after the then-recent Sputnik crisis, and less focus on humanities education. The Classics survived (and still live on today), but are no longer seen as being “central” to Western education in the way that they were seen before. This is a shame, because the Greeks and Romans influenced so much of who we are today. They had a great influence on our art, sculpture, architecture, theater, drama, literature, philosophy, science, and even our form of government. If history is about understanding who we are and how we came to be that way, the Classics actually have much to tell us about our identity as a people, and how it came about.

The “Forum Romanum,” better known as the Roman Forum

Some thoughts about philosophy education

“[I] am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god; and the state is a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life. I am that gadfly which the gods have attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you. You will not easily find another like me …”

– Socrates at his trial, as recorded in Plato's “Apology”

I am not the sort of person that you would expect to be an advocate for philosophy education. I am a card-carrying member of the religious right, and I am aghast at the liberal indoctrination that so often passes for “education” today. Moreover, I disapprove of the “ivory-tower academia” into which philosophy has sometimes degenerated today. Yet I am a vigorous advocate of philosophy education. Why?

Socrates, who is quoted above

Reading about the trial of Socrates in the original Greek

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

– Socrates at his trial, as recorded by Plato's “Apology”

Before beginning this project, I had just finished reading C. A. E. Luschnig's “An Introduction to Ancient Greek: A Literary Approach.” (More about that here.) I had earlier determined that after getting through this book, my first use of this (admittedly limited) proficiency would be to read all of the primary sources about the trial of Socrates in the original Greek. There aren't very many of them, I should add here, so I knew that this was a manageable task. Thus, I started doing so immediately after reading the introductory textbook about Greek.

Socrates

Aristotle and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

One of the great Macedonian kings was Philip II of Macedon. He fathered the boy who would become Alexander the Great, and he hired a tutor to teach this now-famous son. The tutor was another famous person that you've probably heard of, incidentally, because it was none other than Aristotle, the Greek philosopher. Our church is among a number of those whose leaders have quoted from Aristotle, incidentally, as I will show below.

Aristotle

King Philip II of Macedon, who hired Aristotle to tutor his son

Socrates and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is among a number of churches that value the wisdom of Socrates. Church leaders have even quoted from him over the years at times. I have given some of these quotes in another post about Plato, so I will try to minimize the redundancy here. Suffice it to say that Socrates is important to us, and that I will try to show this with some relevant quotes.

Socrates

Where do I find Latin and Greek works in the original?

You might try the Loeb Classical Library, described at Wikipedia here and found at this website here. (The rest of this post is about how I searched for this prize.)

Falling in love with Classics: How I rediscovered Ancient Greece and Rome

"Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him [Paul]. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection."

- The New Testament, "The Acts of the Apostles," Chapter 17, Verse 18 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)

I have long been a fan of Classical Studies, which - in the world of academia - has the specialized meaning of Ancient Greece and Rome. I wouldn't have predicted it in my youth, but I really got into classical studies when I got older. I didn't major in it or anything - I am merely an amateur who studies Classics as a hobby. But it was something that would change my life for the better, when I really got into it.

My favorite painting of Jesus Christ

Why I want to read philosophy in other languages

It is well-known among my friends that I am a foreign language buff. Some of my friends also know that I am a philosophy buff as well. These things might seem to be totally separate from each other, and to some degree they really are. But there is one way I'd like to combine them, which is to read some philosophy written in French, German, or Greek without the aid of translation. Why would anyone want to do this, you may be wondering? This post attempts to explain it.

Plato and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Aristotle

"Have you ever heard of Plato? Aristotle? Socrates?" "Yes." "Morons." (Or were they?)

Plato

I felt inspired to write this piece about Plato and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These subjects might seem to be unconnected, but there are a few quotes from Latter-Day Saints' General Conferences about the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Most of them are favorable, while one of them is critical of his philosopher-king idea. Mostly they're favorable, though, and I will discuss these General Conference quotes in detail now.