Aristotle: Introductory Readings [Paperback]

Aristotle (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0872203395 | ISBN-13: 978-0872203396 | Publication Date: June 1, 1996

Drawn from the translations and editorial aids of Irwin and Fine's Aristotle, Selections, this anthology will be most useful to instructors who must try to do justice to Aristotle in a semester-long ancient philosophy survey, but it is also appropriate for a variety of introductory-level courses. This book provides accurate, readable, and integrated translations that allow the reader to follow Aristotle's use of crucial technical terms and to grasp the details of his argument. Included are adaptations of the glossary and notes that helped make its parent volume a singularly useful aid to the study of Aristotle.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Aristotle; Translated by Terence Irwin

Product Details

• Paperback: 359 pages
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872203395
• ISBN-13: 978-0872203396
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not useful - get fuller volume, January 18, 2004

By 

Mr. S. Koller "SK" (The Hague, NL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aristotle: Introductory Readings (Paperback)

Irwin's and Fine's translations merit a five-star rating. They are expert scholars who have for decades been at the forefront of Aristotle research. Besides 100% technical accuracy they helpfully subscript (i) Aristotle's keyterms which can't be uniformly translated and (ii) those keyterms which have only one English equivalent ('form', 'being', 'knowledge', etc).

However, I warn customers NOT to get this book (I made the mistake) but instead get Fine and Irwin's "Aristotle: Selections" (Hackett 1995) from which the "Introductory Readings" are excerpted. You'll need their full glossary and the more extensive notes if you want to understand Aritotle AT ALL. In that regard Introductory Readings is useless and that's why it merits a one-star.

Two coments in closing.
1) Every translation of Aristotle is an interpretation, and Irwin's and Fine's even more so than others due to its high frequency of interpolations. It's therefore indispensable to have another reader - say, Ackrill's (Princeton 1987) - beside you to compare what's going on.
2) "Selections" contains Irwin's phenomenal translation of the Nichomachean Ethics. However, if you are predominantly interested in that work be sure to get Irwin's full translation (Hackett 1999) first. His extensive commentary, targeted at beginners, scores a ten-star!