A New Aristotle Reader
Aristotle
Only old geezers like me remember Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. You youngsters can pull up a chair and let me tell you about these, which contained anywhere from three to six books abridged and squished into one hardback volume. I liked them as a free-spirited child. Now, as a neurotic adult, I shudder at the thought of reading a book without actually reading the whole book.
And yet, here I find myself again, catapulted back to my childhood and reading a condensed version of Aristotle’s works. I comfort myself with the knowledge that I spent huge chunks of 2023 and 2024 reading the complete works, and hasten to reassure one and all that I didn’t use this book to cheat.
Not that there’s anything wrong with cheating on Aristotle. His complete works are a beast, and modern collections include essays authored by the equivalent of ancient AI writing philosophy “in the style of” the master. They’re useful for understanding his influence, but these spurious works aren’t necessary if all you want is the genuine article.
For that, this one-volume distillation of the essential Aristotle is just what the doctor (of philosophy?) ordered. Of course, the editor’s introduction is swimming in caveats. Deep cuts had to be made, from paragraphs to chapters to books. Plus, what we have of Aristotle’s works are often draft copies or outline notes for lectures, and thus are already elliptical or truncated even before modern editors sharpen their knives.
All of that being said, this is an excellent boiled-down version of the thinker whose thoughts still shape our world. My journey through the complete works is fresh enough that I could vibe-check this reader against them, and the vibes are good. I feel that J. L. Ackrill’s editorial decisions produced a book much more accessible to those who aren’t willing to invest in 3000 pages of Greek philosophy.
That isn’t to say this is easy reading. There’s no way to make Aristotle easy without dumbing him down into something he wasn’t. But if you want a quick hit of the Nicomachean Ethics or Politics or (God forbid) Metaphysics, this is a much less steep climb for a view that’s still worth the hike.
Authors: Aristotle, William David Ross (Translator), J.L. Ackrill (Editor, Translator)
Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Greek Philosophy