Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

Bartlett and Collins have penned what now must be considered the translation of choice into English of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. The best review I have so far read of it is "Code of the Gentleman" by Diana Schaub in The Claremont Review of Books with the response of the authors. There are so many felicities in their rethinking of how to translate Aristotle into English, and so many useful features such as footnotes (not tiresome endnotes), a glossary, interpretative essay, detailed indices etc., that the reader is brought closer to the text, and therefore to the meaning of the author, and not estranged from it by excessive pandering to the limitations of careless readers who do not like to have to think long and hard to get to the truth about things, especially naturally contentious human things like `morality'. This translation surpasses those by Sachs, Broadie and Rowe, Irwin, Ostwald, and Ross (the superior literary, but not literal translation) which are still useful to consult especially for their critical apparatus and alternative readings of key terms. Alas, certain significant words do not have footnotes or glossary entries, such as `inquiry/investigation' which they use to translate methodos - literally "the way after" or "the way towards" or "the way of proceeding" especially to the truth about the things human - philosophy. A detailed analytical outline would have been helpful. And, perhaps the size of the font could have been a bit larger in kindness to older eyes. This translation is also the superior twin to Carnes Lord's translation of "Aristotle The Politics" from the same stable, The University of Chicago Press. The other most useful pair of literal translations of Aristotle's "philosophy of things human" would be Joe Sachs, "Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics" and Peter L. Phillips Simpson's, "The Politics of Aristotle". The appendix to the Politics is the "Poetics" of which Seth Benardete's translation is the superior literal and scholarly translation, perhaps followed by Joe Sachs. The other work in Aristotle's quartet (or trilogy if one accepts the Poetics as a form of appendix to the Politics) is the "Rhetoric" which Bartlett has now also translated literally with a useful interpretive essay, glossary and notes.

I read this English edition of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics as part of my journey through the Western canon. My rating and this review are not of Aristotle himself, but of this English edition. First, Bartlett and Collins write an excellent short introduction to Aristotle and not only place him in his historical and philosophical context but also discuss his continued influence even into the 21st Century. Their introduction addresses how a post-modern steeped in moral relativism can still benefit from the absolute moral values presented by Aristotle. In addition to their introduction, Bartlett and Collins write a helpful Note On Translation that provides insight into their literal translation approach. In my study of ancient languages (Hebrew, Koine Greek, and Latin), I have come to prefer this approach myself. Second, Bartlett and Collins provide the reader with a superb English translation. Clear. Crisp. Accessible. Third, I love the informative footnotes from Bartlett and Collins. The notes provide helpful historical, social, and literary context, they give insight into the underlying Greek terms Aristotle uses, and they provide visibility to manuscript variants. And, they're footnotes and not end notes! Fourth, I read through most of their interpretive essay (I read parts of it after I read each chapter in the Ethics), but honestly I didn't find it that helpful. I'd recommend skipping the interpretive essay except when it deals with chapters 6 and 7 of the Ethics. Overall, great English edition of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. 5-out-of-5 stars.

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is a must-read for anyone interested in philosophy, morality, or personal growth. His insights on virtue, happiness, and the good life are as relevant today as they were centuries ago. While the language can be dense at times, the wisdom in these pages makes it worth the effort. A true classic!

While I knew who Aristotle was I had never read any of his works. Extremely difficult to read in some places yet surprisingly easy in others. I think Aristotle himself wasn’t quite sure of what he was saying. He also contradicts himself in some places. The translators did a good job of sorting these discrepancies out. Overall I am glad I read while I do not entirely agree with him, I have a better understanding of current ethics.

I have more than one version by different authors of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, and this is the most approachable in all the best ways. The layout of the book is helpful to anyone new to reading Aristotle and philosophy (makes me kind of wish every book on philosophy would do the same....it helps those for whom philosophy or the subject matter isn't their primary-- or even remote-- area of study. The level of transparency in the difficulty to translating Aristotle's text gave me an immediate sense of the desire to communicate the text and not "show off". I appreciate the care and sincerity with which the translators/authors present this material. It will help me (as a less-than-a-novice to the subject) present pertinent information within the context of what IS my primary area of study to others.

A perfect book, obviously, so the translation's all I'm going to talk about. I think the 'literalness' of the translation is a bit overstated, though it seems to be the best one available (better than Reeve's recent translation, certainly.) But expect a manifestly strong ‘Straussian’ influence, and this goes too for the 65 page interpretive essay accompanying the text. The essay is thought provoking if sometimes pretty under-motivated in its use of evidence; it doesn't seem like Straussianism is quite as conducive to Aristotle as to Plato (hence, one would think, Strauss's relative dearth of commentaries on the former—not that it stops his dsiciples). Anyway, the assimilation of Aristotelian terms of art in the body of the translation to the terms employed in Bloom's translation of Plato's Republic is both interesting and possibly misleading. Nevertheless, this seems to me to be the best translation available.

Just got the book today. Brand new and very clean. Excited to read.

This is the best version of the book I've come across. Aristotle is difficult, but this reads really well. And all the notes and other things make the book much easier to understand. Highly recommended!

Not gonna lie, took me a few attempts to get into it. But once it clicks, it genuinely changes how you think about habits and what a good life even looks like. Aristotle's point about virtue being a practice rather than a trait hit different. Essential read, just don't expect it to be easy.

There are some creases, but quality is overall maintained

This is why the Ellanoi (that we mistakenly call "greeks" today) conquered the world with their culture. When everybody else was still living in little mud huts, the Ellanoi philosophers were talking about ethics and higher knowledge. This book is a fine example of an extraordinary civilization that still shines bright all over the world.

Excellent copy, very good

I really couldn't ask for more in a thoughtful, diligent translation. Fives stars for what it set out to be. I'm using this as an occasional reference for my own abridgement of the Ross version. The interpretive essay is most useful. This is quite the gem, even if reading Aristotle as he wished to be understood is a too often painful slog. But there's real, essential, foundational ideas and arguments therein. That's why I'm doing the abridgement to separate the wheat from the chaff. Thanks, guys! Super scholarly work, and much appreciated to compare with my own take on the material.