The Complete Works: The Revised Oxford Translation, Vol. 1 by Aristotle

The Complete Works: The Revised Oxford Translation, Vol. 1 Reviews

• 
  Michael

  Anyone who has even the slightest interest in Philosophy has to of course read Aristotle. However, reading the Ethics, Logic, Poetics, Physics and Metaphysics are satisfying in their own right. Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics are probably the most insightful and useful reconstruction of human ethical life that has been written. The Poetics are an exceptional source for an understanding of Greek Tragedy. And the Physics/Metaphysics are vital for anyone interested in the history of Religion and science, both because of his mistakes and because of the methodological insights he develops. Finally, it is worth reading these works if for no other reason than the way he develops a worldview of nature and theology that is so dramatically different than our own.
• 
  Andrew Pixton

  Much harder for me to read than Plato was. Plato used a story format and addressed more interesting topics whereas Aristotle often feels like he talks more about semantics. Both their influences have held back science, and perhaps in Aristotle's case, social progress. Paradoxically, he also effectively started science. I suppose any figure of influence will have some negative impacts when they make mistakes. I'm (was at the time) more of a Platonist but I like(d) Aristotle's objectivity, rules of logic, theories of potentiality to actuality, time as a measurement of motion, virtue ethics (morality is having good character), and natural telos. He focused on this world because we can observe it, though interesting still believed in an ether in the sky and had many similar ideas to Plato with out intending to. I didn't read all of this collection, but focused on various significant parts as well as contributions from scholars.
  
  Favorite Quotes:
  
  "It is the mark of an intelligent person to entertain an idea without accepting it."
  
  "We are what we do repeatedly. Excellence then is not a single act, but a habit."
  
  "The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."
  
  "There is no great genius without a mixture of madness."
  
  "Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime."
  
  "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."
• 
  JJ

  The Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 1 includes: Categories, De Interpretatione, Prior Analytics, Posterior Analytics, Topics, Sophistical Refutations, Physics, On the Heavens, On Generation and Corruption, Meteorology, On the Universe, On the Soul, Sense and Sensibilia, On Memory, On Sleep, On Dreams, On Divination in Sleep, On Length and Shortness of Life, On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration, On Breath, History of Animals, Parts of Animals, Movement of Animals, Progression of Animals, Generation of Animals, On Colors, On things Heard, and finally Physiognomonics.
  
  Before studying Aristotle, I recommend reading or having a solid idea of the Presocratic philosophers such as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Melissus, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, and Empedocles. Too include the philosophy of the Sophists such as Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias, Antiphon, and Thrasymachus. Finally, have read or an understanding of Plato and Socrates as Aristotle (the father of reason) destroys these philosopher's ideas and theories.
• 
  Lukerik

  I’m ashamed to say that I abandoned the Organon half way through as I had failed to understand it. God knows how you will. It’s not at all like Plato where you get out as much as you put in. Here you must completely understand every sentence or you’re lost. Granted, this is an edition without notes, but I’d need more than notes. I’d need a three year degree course just to begin to understand what he means. I’m told that the text is essentially notes to support a series of lectures, and looking through some of the others books in this collection I found then written in the same impenetrable style. Well, it was all sackcloth and ashes here. I have found the limit of my vast intellect. Prior to this I hadn’t been sure there was one.
  
  After the weeping and lamentation was over I pretended I’d enjoyed being humbled like that, and looking through the collection again I found that not all the books are written in the same style. On the Soul and the Parva Naturalia can be read profitably by human beings. These are series of treatises on biology, but Aristotle strays into what we would consider physics and chemistry because crucially he does not understand about things like radiation and chemicals. He’s basically working without results based experimentation, with no previous scientists’ work to refer to, and his only instrument appears to be the pipette. What he does have is observation and the pumpings of his vast multi-cylindered intellect. If you want to see the internal workings of a brain so powerful it must stand at the limit of the humanly possible then read these books. On Divination in Sleep, one of the Parva Naturalia, is funny as well. There’s also On Breath. This is one of the psedepigrapha that got mixed up and passed down under his name. This gives a nice contrast because you can immediately see the difference between how Aristotle thinks and how normal humans think.
  
  Anyway, let’s set all this aside and try to rate this edition. What we have is essentially the standard English edition of the entire Corpus Aristotelicum – all the works passed down from the ancient world under Aristotle’s name, plus the Athenian Constitution, but not the Medieval fakes. It’s based on the 12 volume Oxford translation, with translations revised or replaced and all the notes stripped out to compress it into two volumes. I’ve seen the physical books and they’re nicely made, though probably a little large to read on the bus. Translations are modern and as readable as they probably can be. I have knocked off a star for the digital edition. There’s no need to maintain the split into two volumes, though I do see there is now a one volume digital edition. As size is not an issue I don’t see why thay can’t add the notes back in. They must own the copyright and any tyepsetting cost could be offset by not having to pay a printer.
• 
  Conrad

  I bought this in college so I could read
  On the Heavens, Aristotle's early attempt at a cosmology (which he was to refine slightly in other books). I figured I might as well get the two-volume set since I was interested and had nothing better to do at the time.
  
  The two books together weight about ten or fifteen pounds. It should be a testament to my devotion to Aristotle that when I got all my books out of storage last weekend and had to pick which ones to load in my massive backpack so as not to go over US Airways' fascistic luggage weight allowance, I picked these (as well as
  Gotham and a bunch of others).
  
  I don't want to rate this because I haven't slogged through, for example, all of the Logic (Categories and its kin put me to sleep), but it's hard not to be completely bowled over by the sheer observatory power that must have been involved in collecting this much knowledge in one place. Why would you ever think to? It's hard to fathom Aristotle sometimes.
  
  Anyway, I appreciate the perspective in Nicomachean Ethics much more than anything Plato ever wrote even though I'm fond of
  Timaeus and
  Gorgias, and the skeptical spirit that infuses Aristotle - plus his assumption that reality, physis, is infinitely granular - is worth taking in and then emulating.
• 
  James Henderson

  Aristotle is one of the foundation authors on which I base my personal philosophy and he is also one of the greatest thinkers who ever lived. We only have what were notes to his lectures, yet reading them I feel the power of his mind is always present. The books included in this two-volume set range from the foundation of thinking of logic, scientific speculation on physics, psychology and astronomy, metaphysics, and moral guidelines with the Nicomachean Ethics perhaps the acme of his philosophy. I also especially enjoyed the five books on animals (history, parts, movement, progression, and generation). His powers of observation were unsurpassed and the connections that can be made between the concepts developed in the different books helps to develop a better understanding of his ideas. I would recommend Aristotle for those interested in the foundations of philosophy (along with the Dialogues of Plato).
• 
  Breta

  Decent publication for someone who would like to have an overview of Aristotle's work, but I wouldn't recommend this to a classicist or a demanding reader. The translation from ancient Greek to English is not completely accurate regarding some philosophical terms, something that might be quite confusing considering Aristotle's nominalism.
  
  For example, personally I found irritating author's choice to translate the ancient word 'cosmos' to 'universe', especially due to the fact that the same word applies in modern English. This unreasonable need of changing every single word from the original text is the main reason why this translation is a little bit far away from Aristotle's himself preferences. Apart from the above, it's a good effort.
• 
  Cristobal el Rubio

  Aristotle is the master's master; he is, as Dante says, "the master of all who know."
  
• 
  Blake

  Aristotle is one of my right hand men. I just picked up this book about a month ago. I plan to read it in the near future.
• 
  Kaylyn

  Read parts of “Parts of Animals”, book 5 of Physics, Alpha, Gamma, and Zeta of Metaphysics, books 1 & 2 of politics, and book 1 of NE. Not even a dint of the works by my dude but still a good time. Looking forward to finishing Politics and writing 60 pages about it hahaha
• 
  M.A.

  Worthy of the time spent.
• 
  John

  Rating: D+
  
  OK, I'll confess. I'm not an Aristotle fan. I chose to read "Nicomachean Ethics", "Politics" and "Poetics" because it was on The New Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman. Obviously, around 350 B.C., basic concepts regarding alternative governments and their variations had not been thought through too well. Aristotle does a great job of reasoning through all of the good and bad points in a logical progression. He does the same with what makes a person "Happy" and the good, bad and ugly of tragedy vs. epic poetry. The granularity is excruciating and I found myself reading words just to read words.
  
  Learned some things in "Ethics" about his view on temperaments. Loved what he says in "Politics, Book VII, Part 13": "This makes men fancy that external goods are the cause of happiness, yet we might as well say that a brilliant performance on the lyre was to be attributed to the instrument and not to the skill of the performer." His comments on poets (Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides) and their works shed a more contemporary critic.
  
  The New Lifetime Reading Plan: Number 13
• 
  Christopher

  I will not be giving a philosophical review of the writings of Aristotle for want of a focused topic. However, it is my belief that an understanding of Aristotle is fundamental to an understanding of our circumstances - he should, must be read. The scholar who wishes to make use of an index would do well to consult "Bonitz's Index Aristotelicus (Greek) or Organ's Index to Aristotle (English)" (2467 V2) for reasons indicated by the editor Jonathan Barnes and my own experiece using the provided index.
• 
  Masen Production

  “He dared to ask and he thought over it, he questioned existence and sought enlightenment in its truest form. Till date most of the pages hold true because human nature is still the same. Its his lifetime of thoughts encapsulated in these volumes, one cannot just read and put it down. To comprehend the whole text will take this lifetime. Will keep coming back to it always for reference and guidance. ”
  
• 
  Peter

  When approaching this collection of works it is important to keep in mind the fact that many of the books enclosed, have prerequisites. For example, it is expected you have read "Logic", and hopefully "Ethics" when you approach "Rhetoric".
• 
  Brian Garrison

  So far have only read 'Categories', 'Prior Analytics', and 'Posterior Analytics'. A giant of a mind! A is A.
• 
  Jacob

  this is very heavy dialectic. not for a feeble intellect.
• 
  lindsie

  "Happiness is an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue." —from the Nichomachaen Ethics
  
  Um, need I say more?
• 
  Isseicreek

  the only editions that have the access to all the works of Aristotle. excellent for anyone who loves the ancient philosophy. :)
• 
  James

  Very thick and hard to get through. Unless you're a philosophy professor, stick to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.
• 
  Gaile

  Assigned for Philosophy class
• 
  Fredrick Danysh

  The writings and teachings of Aristole. Thought provoking. A little difficult to read.
• 
  нєνєℓ ¢ανα

  A strong sweeping blow of translation into the works of Aristotle.... excellent endeavor!
• 
  Remington Krueger

  I prefer plato, aristole is beyond me.
• 
  Richard

  A good starting point for anyone interested in philosophy, makes for an enjoyable read.
• 
  Jimena Casillas

  The world is what we have