On the Back Cover
Abraham Edel fashions a sound comparative way of using current analysis to deepen our understanding of Aristotle rather than argue with or simply appropriate him. Edel examines how Aristotle's basic ideas operated in his scientific and humanistic works, what they enabled him to do, what they kept him from doing, and what in turn we can learn from his philosophical experimentation. The purpose of this volume is twofold: to provide a comprehensive introduction to Aristotle's thought, and to throw fresh light on its patterned and systematic character. Tracing the pattern in Aristotle's metaphysical and physical writings, the author explores the psychology, epistemology, ethics and politics, rhetoric and poetics. In the process, Edel discusses the way interpretations of Aristotle are built up and how different philosophical outlooks - Catholic, Hegelian, Marxian, linguistic, naturalistic, and pragmatic - have affected the reading of Aristotelian texts and ideas.
About the Author
Abraham Edel (1908-2007), a distinguished American moral and social philosopher, was research professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and before that the City College of New York. Some of his numerous books are Science and the Structure of Ethics, Aristotle and His Philosophy, and Ethical Judgment.
