The Function Argument in Aristotle's Ethics

The first book-length study of the “function argument”, which plays a central role in Aristotle’s ethics, with critical commentary outlining its importance for Aristotle’s understanding of happiness and living well.

The Function Argument in Aristotle’s Ethics gives a systematic account of the development of the “function argument” from Plato’s Republic to the Nicomachean Ethics, with an explication of the interdependence between different versions of the argument which appear in Aristotle's ethical writings. In careful close readings of Aristotle’s ethical writings in each of the Proptrepticus, the Eudemian Ethics and the Nicomachean Ethics, Jirsa makes the case that the function (ergon) argument--that the function of human beings is virtuous activity of the rational part of the soul—serves to differentiate between happiness (eudaimonia) and the happy life (eudaimon bios). The book then evaluates Aristotle’s function argument against contemporary critiques.

With original English translations of sections of the Proptrepticus based on the recent reconstruction from ancient sources and fragments, this volume gives a novel context for understanding a key element of Aristotle’s ethical works, and is an ideal reference for those studying Aristotelian ethics, virtue ethics and the history of philosophy.

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