Abstract

DUDLEY, John. Physical and Metaphysical Foundations of Aristotelian Ethics. arete [online]. 2018, vol.30, n.1, pp.7-21. ISSN 1016-913X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.18800/arete.201801.001.

Leading scholars have regarded Aristotle’s ethics as a kind of dialectical reasoning based on popular opinions and without any sound philosophical foundation. In this paper I shall attempt to show, against them, that Aristotle’s ethics has a physical and a metaphysical foundation as well. Aristotle conceives of ethics metaphysically, given the centrality of his concept of God in his ethical thought. Furthermore, the conception of life behind it comes from his natural philosophy, specifically from his concept of soul.

Keywords : Aristotelian ethics; metaphysics; physics; God; soul.

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