Aristotle - Where to start

[Anonymous No.13527090]

Hello - pleb here. It turns out I got meme'd and started with the Greeks, not only that but I even 'resumed with the Romans(tm)'. However once I reached Aristotle I took a breather since it was straight off the back of Plato and I wanted to cover some literature in different topics.

I'd taken a break from Philosophy texts to read through Livy and Caesar, in addition to a smattering of Plautus, Virgil and the other Romans, which I've thoroughly enjoyed and it has fundamentally changed my perception and outlook on the world and how I behave within it and with others.

Now I want to get back to challenging my 1 horse power brain...

Where does one start with Aristotle?

Is there a recommended order to read through? I had the complete works of Aristotle Vol 2 and I've been leafing through the entertaining 'On Marvelous Things Heard', but i'd like to re-focus my attention on Aristotle.

[Anonymous No.13527418]

n-n-nobody?

[Anonymous No.13527786]

>>13527090

You can try following what was roughly the medieval curriculum, but it's quite a slog. You start with the Organon in the following order:

1. Categories (which is about words and things)
2. De Interpretatione (which is about propositions)
3. Prior Analytics (term logic/scientific deductions)
4. Posterior Analytics (epistemology)
5. Topics (dialectical deduction)
6. Sophistical Refutations (fallacies)

Then move on to the other works on language:

6. Rhetoric (persuasive argumentation)
7. Poetics (literary analysis)

Then the scientific works:

8. Physics
9. Metaphysics
10. De Anima

Then the practical works:

11. Nicomachean Ethics
12. Eudemian ethics
13. Politics

Like I said, it's a slog. And this list doesn't even cover all his surviving work. The Prior Analytics and the Metaphysics are especially dense. If you do decide to read Prior Analytics, you might also want to look up the medieval logical notation they developed for Aristotelian term logic and work through his syllogistic moods yourself.

Also, Aristotle can be very ambiguous at times and there are many places where it's frankly impossible to determine what he was actually trying to say. So you'll have to learn to live with that, and avoid jumping to conclusions. People still argue about whether the Categories is about words or things and whether Aristotle thought words signify objective essences or ideas in the mind.

Also Aristotle scatters claims and arguments about a topic all around his work. So if you're interested in what Aristotle has to say on contradiction, you'd first look to De Interpretatione, but also find stuff on logical contradiction in the Politics, Nicomachean Ethics, Generation of Animals, etc.

Good luck anon

[Anonymous No.13528936]

>>13527786
I'm not OP, but posts like this are what keep lit alive. Keep doing God's work anon.

[Anonymous No.13528976]

It doesn't matter, especially since you should be going into this with expectation that you're going to be rereading these books multiple times. If you're looking for something a little easier to wet the tip then start with his ethics. Magna Moralia and the Economics in particular.

[Anonymous No.13529087]

>>13527786
Also, if you are struggling with Aristotle's ambiguous claims, one way out is to pick an Aristotelian tradition and stick to their interpretation. I.e. decide in advance that you're going to do a Thomist reading of Aristotle, a Neoplatonic reading, an Islamic Golden Age reading, or a Byzantine reading. This would involve tracking down commentaries on Aristotle and reading them alongside though, and sometimes they're hard to find.

[Anonymous No.13530558]

Aristotle for Everybody

[Anonymous No.13530583]

[Anonymous No.13530714]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjXOmwXENjc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn89Jdp4mc0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIKHmUWICWc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nke9geV7g98

[Anonymous No.13530774]

The Basic Works of Aristotle

[Anonymous No.13530861]

>>13527786
>1. Categories (which is about words and things)
lol

[Anonymous No.13530862]

The Philosophy of Aristotle

[Anonymous No.13530972]

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/

https://www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/

[Anonymous No.13531560]

>>13527090
Greg Sadler does a lot of videos on Aristotle

I don't know if this is really what you're looking for but I think Alasdair MacIntyre is a really interesting modern Aristotelian, good for if you need convinced that Aristotle still had application in the modern world. But he's very much doing his own thing with Aristotle's framework, not just explaining Aristotle

[Anonymous No.13533379]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF6044hZ0i8

[Anonymous No.13533411]

You’re a coward if you don’t read the PUP complete works of Aristotle in 2 volumes