ARISTOTLE
Nicomachean Ethics
Begins October 12th 2024
Dr. Johannes A. Niederhauser
The Foundation of Ethics
and the Good Life
Reading the Nicomachean Ethics, one of the most fundamental texts of European ethics, invites us to return to the grounding of Ethics with Virtue, which was gutted by the Enlightenment.
While we will refrain from simply reading into Aristotle modern versions of "virtue ethics", we will consider what arete, the Greek word for "virtue" really entails and how new translations of the word can help to open us up to the dimension of ethos, the very grounding of the human being and thus his essence.
Therefore, learning how to think like a Greek and also gaining some understanding of the Ancient Greek language is one of the main focuses of this course.
We wish to get a sense of what Greek philosophy and thinking genuinely entail.
For ethos means first and foremost the dwelling ground which supports the human being and is thus his essence.
The trouble with so-called "Virtue Ethics" today is precisely that it shies away from the divine which is fundamental however to Aristotle's eudaimonia and the good life. Without divine nous we cannot achieve the highest life.
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Here is the link to enrol: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics course on our teachable page.​​