Review by Choice Review
This book consists of a detailed running commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, books 1 through 7 (with a brief epilogue on book 10). In many respects this analysis is not unlike numerous commentaries composed by scholars from the medieval period to the present day, except that Pangle (government, Univ. of Texas, Austin) places particular emphasis on a "politically informed dialectical reading" primarily of Aristotle's conceptions of moral and intellectual virtues and the complex contributions of both reason and passion to the achievement of human happiness. Although Pangle is certainly correct in her claim that Ethics is dominated by the goals of the civic-minded gentleman and by the virtues of the noble statesman and the noble warrior, she engages in little analysis of Aristotle's Politics itself. Thus, this book constitutes an excellent prolegomena to future study of the complex relationship between Aristotle's moral and political philosophy. The bibliography is good but the index is names only. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. --Paul A. Streveler, emeritus, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review