{"product_id":"happy-lives-and-the-highest-good-an-essay-on-aristotles-nicomachean-ethics-9780691126265","title":"Happy Lives and the Highest Good: An Essay on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics","description":"\u003cp\u003eGabriel Richardson Lear presents a bold new approach to one of the enduring debates about Aristotle's \u003ci\u003eNicomachean Ethics\u003c\/i\u003e: the controversy about whether it coherently argues that the best life for humans is one devoted to a single activity, namely philosophical contemplation. Many scholars oppose this reading because the bulk of the \u003ci\u003eEthics\u003c\/i\u003e is devoted to various moral virtues--courage and generosity, for example--that are not in any obvious way either manifestations of philosophical contemplation or subordinated to it. They argue that Aristotle was inconsistent, and that we should not try to read the entire \u003ci\u003eEthics\u003c\/i\u003e as an attempt to flesh out the notion that the best life aims at the \"monistic good\" of contemplation. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In defending the unity and coherence of the \u003ci\u003eEthics\u003c\/i\u003e, Lear argues that, in Aristotle's view, we may act for the sake of an end not just by instrumentally bringing it about but also by approximating it. She then argues that, for Aristotle, the excellent rational activity of moral virtue is an approximation of theoretical contemplation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Thus, the happiest person chooses moral virtue as an approximation of contemplation in practical life. Richardson Lear bolsters this interpretation by examining three moral virtues--courage, temperance, and greatness of soul--and the way they are fine. Elegantly written and rigorously argued, this is a major contribution to our understanding of a central issue in Aristotle's moral philosophy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Gabriel Richardson Lear\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/16\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.8lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.26h x 6.30w x 0.61d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691126265\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRevised Edition\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45229837418633,"sku":"9780691126265","price":47.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_df01250c-1c0d-47ad-8557-4be7154e3759.jpg?v=1770113403","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/happy-lives-and-the-highest-good-an-essay-on-aristotles-nicomachean-ethics-9780691126265","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}