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Review
"A short, sweet, and selective commentary and analysis of Aristotle's works and ideas. A fine adjunct to the reading of the translated texts. A highly recommended aid to the student meeting Aristotle ab initio. Boy, what a book!"--Steven C. Fleishman, University of Maryland
"No other work on Aristotle accomplishes so much in such brief compass; its author's care for and knowledge of Aristotle's achievements are evident on every page."--Tom Cunningham, Grand Valley State College
"One of the finest critical introductions to Aristotle ever written. Clear, concise, and intelligible."--Religious Studies Review
"As an introduction to Aristotle, I find Barnes' book ideal....his book presents the basics in an understandable manner for beginners."--Rose Maries Surwilo, College of St. Francis
"There is something here for everyone with a nose for philosophy and its history...Barnes has provided a description which does justice to the grandeur and breadth of its subject."--Sarah Waterlow, Times Literary Supplement
Product Description
The influence of Aristotle, the prince of philosophers, on the intellectual history of the West is second to none. In this book Jonathan Barnes examines Aristotle's scientific researches, his discoveries in logic and his metaphysical theories, his work in psychology and in ethics and politics, and his ideas about art and poetry, placing his teachings in their historical context.
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First Sentence
Aristotle died in the autumn of 322 BC. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Aristotle died in the autumn of 322 BC. Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
An excellent introduction to the life and work of Aristotle, written by someone who is an obvious authority on the man. Concise and intelligible, the book is ideal for beginners, accomplishing a surprising amount in a limited space. Barnes is clearly an admirer of his subject, but he doesn't let that admiration hold him back from offering fair-minded criticism at various stages of the book.
The first couple of chapters provide useful context by detailing the main stages of Aristotle's life and the political backdrop underpinning it. Then Barnes turns to the studies, offering short and sweet commentary and analysis of his works and ideas. Beginning with Aristotle's copious zoological research, Barnes moves on to his work on logic, metaphysics, politics, ethics, aesthetics, psychology and more. Finally, he offers a balanced analysis of Aristotle's influence and legacy.
All in all, a top-notch addition to the VSI series, and an essential one if you plan on tackling the later philosophers.
The first couple of chapters provide useful context by detailing the main stages of Aristotle's life and the political backdrop underpinning it. Then Barnes turns to the studies, offering short and sweet commentary and analysis of his works and ideas. Beginning with Aristotle's copious zoological research, Barnes moves on to his work on logic, metaphysics, politics, ethics, aesthetics, psychology and more. Finally, he offers a balanced analysis of Aristotle's influence and legacy.
All in all, a top-notch addition to the VSI series, and an essential one if you plan on tackling the later philosophers.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Early on in this book Barnes points out what a mammoth task providing a short introduction to someone as prolific in output as Aristotle is going to be. It is estimated that his output easily reached fifty volumes of work, on subjects as diverse as the theatre to zoology. Even though only about a quarter of that survives, it is still a massive amount of work.
This book therefore, really is an introduction. There are short, concise chapters that cover a great deal of the themes and ideas he introduced. The most time is spent discussing his work with animals and plants and his work on ethics, logic and philosophy.
As with all these Very Short Introductions there are illustrations, but here it seems almost a shame, because the illustrations add little, and a few more pages of written material would have been much more helpful.
As ever there are excellent bibliographies and further reading suggestions in the back which will give you places to go after this, depending on your interest.
Given the complexity of the ideas discussed and the amount of material condensed this is an excellent book, although further reading will definitely be required.
This book therefore, really is an introduction. There are short, concise chapters that cover a great deal of the themes and ideas he introduced. The most time is spent discussing his work with animals and plants and his work on ethics, logic and philosophy.
As with all these Very Short Introductions there are illustrations, but here it seems almost a shame, because the illustrations add little, and a few more pages of written material would have been much more helpful.
As ever there are excellent bibliographies and further reading suggestions in the back which will give you places to go after this, depending on your interest.
Given the complexity of the ideas discussed and the amount of material condensed this is an excellent book, although further reading will definitely be required.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was really disappointed by this book. Other books in the 'A Very Short Introduction' series have been brilliant and amazingly helpful. But this one seems to miss the concept of an 'Introduction' entirely. He doesn't explain most of what he says, and uses Latin expressions without actually explaining what it means in English. While Barnes is certainly knowledgeable on the subject of Aristotle, his structure of writing is almost completely useless to anyone who is actually using the book as a way to first start studying Aristotle. I would also question the worth of a man who would so freely insult Plato the way Barnes does.
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