Aristotle: His Life and School by Carlo Natali (PDF)

Description

The definitive account of Aristotle’s life and schoolThis definitive biography shows that Aristotle’s philosophy is best understood on the basis of a firm knowledge of his life and of the school he founded. First published in Italian, and now translated, updated, and expanded for English readers, this concise chronological narrative is the most authoritative account of Aristotle’s life and his Lyceum available in any language. Gathering, distilling, and analyzing all the evidence and previous scholarship, Carlo Natali, one of the world’s leading Aristotle scholars, provides a masterful synthesis that is accessible to students yet filled with evidence and original interpretations that specialists will find informative and provocative.Cutting through the controversy and confusion that have surrounded Aristotle’s biography, Natali tells the story of Aristotle’s eventful life and sheds new light on his role in the foundation of the Lyceum. Natali offers the most detailed and persuasive argument yet for the view that the school, an important institution of higher learning and scientific research, was designed to foster a new intellectual way of life among Aristotle’s followers, helping them fulfill an aristocratic ideal of the best way to use the leisure they enjoyed. Drawing a wealth of connections between Aristotle’s life and thinking, Natali demonstrates how the two are mutually illuminating.For this edition, ancient texts have been freshly translated on the basis of the most recent critical editions; indexes have been added, including a comprehensive index of sources and an index to previous scholarship; and scholarship that has appeared since the book’s original publication has been incorporated.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “One of Choice’s Outstanding Academic Titles Top 25 Academic Books for 2014″”Gathering, distilling, and analyzing all the evidence and previous scholarship, Carlo Natali, one of the world’s leading Aristotle scholars, provides a masterful synthesis that is accessible to students yet filled with evidence and original interpretations that specialists will find informative and provocative.” ― World Book Industry”Natali assembles all of the relevant ancient sources for the life of Aristotle and offers judicious assessments of their reliability and significance. The result, when it comes to the life of Aristotle, is that Natali’s work is now the standard biography. . . . This book both satisfies the highest standards of scholarship and is accessible to any intelligent readers. Every college and university library should have it.” ― Choice”Having read this book, I now have a much better grasp of the issues involved in ancient biography as it applies to Aristotle and other Peripatetics, and of what we know and we do not know (and knowing what we do not know is a kind of knowledge.”—Robert Mayhew, Institute for Research in Classical Philosophy and Science Review “What was it like for Aristotle to be a foreigner in Athens? What did it take for him to found a school independent of his friends? What happened in his classroom? And what was it like to adopt philosophy as an aristocratic lifestyle? Carlo Natali’s highly readable biography of Aristotle brings to life a very complex subject. Natali acknowledges the merits of Jaeger’s great biography of the philosopher, but I would now recommend Natali’s even more highly.”―Richard Sorabji, Wolfson College, University of Oxford”This is the best account of Aristotle’s life in print. Carlo Natali has given us a critical biography at once truly authoritative and highly accessible―a rare achievement. At the same time, his lucid and compelling narrative offers a distinctive view of the raison d’être of Aristotle’s school. There is nothing else of anything like the same stature in English that one could recommend either to students or scholars―and this book will appeal to both.”―Malcolm Schofield, professor emeritus, University of Cambridge”Very well conceived and finely executed, this is a first-rate book about Aristotle not just as a collection of texts but as a living, breathing historical figure working in a particular context. It is eye-opening, thoughtful, deft, eminently sensible, and accessible. By placing familiar things in surprising new contexts, Carlo Natali invariably manages to put new spins on old themes.”―John P. Lynch, professor emeritus, University of California, Santa Cruz About the Author Carlo Natali is professor of the history of philosophy at the University of Venice. His books include The Wisdom of Aristotle and an Italian translation, with revised Greek text, of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. D. S. Hutchinson is professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto. He is the author of The Virtues of Aristotle and the associate editor of Plato: Complete Works. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This the definitive scholarly assessment of the life of Aristotle and his school, based on the fragments and a sophisticated reading of the writings. It doesn’t deal with the philosophy in any significant fashion, but illuminates the “world of Aristotle” in such a way as to place the reader in the period in great detail. The author sifts through the evidence and the stories, weighs the pros and cons, and is extraordinarily judicious. If you have any serious interest in Aristotle, this is an engrossing study — it is also a very easy, compelling read, I read it like a novel. Of particular interest in the exhaustive nature of the research is the picture painted throughout of an immense community of scholarly labourers joined through space and time, of which Natali is an honoured member. Of value is a postscript from 2012 which brings the whole story up to date. Really a model of its kind.

⭐This account of Aristotle’s life, or rather setting straight what we do and don’t know about it, is fascinating. Unfortunately it is marred by poor “ergonomics.” My main complaint is the small type used for the main text (and even smaller for the extensive end material). But another serious short-falling is the omission of a standard index. There is an index of ancient persons and places, as well as indexes of primary and secondary sources; but looking up a particular term is impossible. (And there is no glossary to compensate.) It’s a shame to treat such impressive and meticulous scholarship so poorly. I would have expected better production values from Princeton University Press.

⭐I am neither an historian nor an expert on Aristotle, and cannot comment on those aspects of the book. However, this book is a terrible slog. While it is full of facts, those facts are not connected in a meaningful way. The big picture is almost totally lacking. For a lay person like me, I got very little out of it.

⭐Interesting book, but not a fan of the way it’s written with continual referencing conflicting views on every point the author makes

⭐I did not like the book whatsoever and tough to read, got about 10% in and put on the shelf

⭐and Aristotle, this will provide much more than a “mere” biography. It is startling how many myths about Aristotle are exposed, or qualified.

⭐book is worthy of it’s price; concise, reliable, with testimonies and commentary; if you need introduction to Aristotle’ school it is very good choice

⭐A Fascinating and compelling portrait of a great man.

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