Aristotle's Physics: A Guided Study (Masterworks of Discovery) [Paperback]

Joe Sachs (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813521920 | ISBN-13: 978-0813521923 | Publication Date: March 1, 1995

Aristotle's Physics is one of the least studied "great books"--physics has come to mean something entirely different than Aristotle's inquiry into nature, and stereotyped Medieval interpretations have buried the original text. Sach's translation is really the only one that I know of that attempts to take the reader back to the text itself.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813521920
• ISBN-13: 978-0813521923
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A new, helpful translation, February 24, 2002

By 

"mdsfnelson" (Severn, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aristotle's Physics: A Guided Study (Masterworks of Discovery) (Paperback)

Sachs' translations of Aristotle (I have read his Physics, Metaphysics, and On the Soul) are wonderful in a number of ways: he eschews traditional translations of key words for more descriptive ones (case in point: "entelecheia" is often translated as "actuality," but his "being-at-work-staying-itself" gets to the heart of Aristotle's meaning), he provides plenty of helpful features, such as a large glossary and commentaries, and the books are well-organized and geared toward the student who needs to be able to find a place in the text quickly.

Unfortunately, one of the great benefits of Sachs' translation method is also one of its downfalls: "Being-at-work-staying-itself" may get the idea across, but it just doesn't read well in English. Reading Aristotle in Sachs' translation is rewarding, but cumbersome. I would recommend reading Sachs alongside Apostle or the Loeb edition to get an addditional perpective on the text, and also to alert you to the terms that, although misleading, form the framework of later Aristotelian thought.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The only good translation, August 29, 2006

By 

William C. Roberts (Montreal, QC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aristotle's Physics: A Guided Study (Masterworks of Discovery) (Paperback)

Aristotle's Physics is one of the least studied "great books"--physics has come to mean something entirely different than Aristotle's inquiry into nature, and stereotyped Medieval interpretations have buried the original text. Sach's translation is really the only one that I know of that attempts to take the reader back to the text itself.

I do have a few quibbles, mostly with the presentation. The line numbers are buried in the text, rather than set off in the margins, which is annoying. The typeface is difficult and too closely packed. The cover is one of the ugliest ever produced. The book is too expensive, given the quality.

If you are going to study or teach the Physics in English, however, this is absolutely the edition you should use.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars

A quite helpful new translation of Aristotle's Physics, September 17, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Aristotle's Physics: A Guided Study (Masterworks of Discovery) (Hardcover)

If you think you could never understand Aristotle's Physics because yet existing translations of the greek text have made it very difficult to understand, you could try to read it closer to the originality of the aristotelian language itself. This new version could provide it to you! For example, if you think that «ousía» means something different from, or not exactly «substance», think now of «thinghood» and try to read all the treatise under the new perspective given by Professor Joe Sachs' superb translation, helpful for any forthcoming research in Ancient Philosophy.

Dr. Francisco Chorão (Lisbon, European Community