How to Flourish: An Ancient Guide to Living Well (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers) Hardcover – Import, 20 June 2023

Better to read a good accessible translation of this Aristotelian work, such as the translation by J.A.K. Thomson.

O livro não está totalmente traduzido o que impossibilita a continuidade da leitura de cada capitulo.Uma página está em inglês , a próxima em grego . E assim por diante .

“How to Flourish” is an excellent easy-to-read abridgment of Aristotle's (384-322 BCE) famous “Nicomachean Ethics.” It is part of a series of new translations of ancient texts of practical wisdom, which "Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers" has made accessible to modern readers.Aristotle emphasizes in his “Ethics” that what distinguishes humans from plants and animals is rational thinking. A good person studies the sciences to learn how the world functions and uses what is known and his thinking to achieve proper behavior. No one can know everything, but the more one understands helps them achieve happiness by realizing much of their potential and being all they can be. The title Nicomachean refers to Aristotle and his father, who was a physician, both called Nicomachus. The book’s goal is achieved by daily practice that develops habits of proper behavior. The book emphasizes that moral behavior is the mean between two extremes, one is excess, and the other is deficiency.Unfortunately, Aristotle’s writings have been lost. The Nicomachean Ethics was composed more than two centuries after he died in 322 BCE. Scholars speculate that Andronicus of Rhodes assembled this book from notes that Aristotle left behind, notes Aristotle had no intention to publish. Aristotle may have written the notes to prompt him when he delivered lectures. Andronicus was a poor writer. What he assembled is terse, crabbed in style. They are filled with digressions, repetitions, and non-relevant remarks. University of Pennsylvania philosopher and classicist Dr. Susan Sauve Meyer’s removed these items. Her book is approximately 25 percent of the text of the Nicomachean Ethics.

I myself have had to read English translations of the orginal for philosophy classes, and have no reason to quibble about this edition's content. I sent this version to my daughter as a birthday present. My choice was based not so much about what an ancient Greek philospher had to say but more on the layout for the cover. In these days of selfies and "private branding" exercises, everybody needs to have some highly visible books posed in the background for Zoom meetings that support the image they want to project to the world. The cover's yellow color is highly visible, the title is catchy and hip, etc. In other words, this gets a high rating from me. (Knowing my daughter, I also suspect she will actually try to read the text, which is pure bonus!)

I really enjoy reading philosophy but I have always found existing translations of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates (through Plato) to be just too difficult a read. I've tried numerous times only to find myself a bit lost. With this book, we have a very approachable translation with a bit of context injected by the author that provides additional clarity. I consider myself an average reader of philosophy and I'm finally able to enjoy the the writings of one of the greatest philosophical thinkers. Reading this book has been a real treat for me. I was at the point where I just figured I was never going to directly consume Aristotle's writings and was just going to have to rely on other peoples summaries. But now I have a translation that I can read and interpret for myself.I really appreciate what the author (Meyer) has done. If you have ever wanted to read Aristotle but found the material to be a bit dense, and lengthy, this book is for you. And now I understand for myself why Aristotle is considered such a philosophical genius!