Product Description

A new translation of one of the cornerstones of Western philosophy.

Always passionately interested in natural phenomena, Aristotle eventually dissented from Plato's idealist premise that what we perceive is just a pale reflection of the true reality. The Metaphysics is Aristotle's first mature statement of his own philosophical understanding of reality. An extraordinary synthesis, integrating the natural and rational aspects of the world, Aristotle's Metaphysics probes some of the deepest questions of philosophy: What is existence? How is change possible? What makes something the same thing at different times? Are there things that must exist for anything else to exist at all? Furthermore, with his notion of "substance" and his associated concepts of matter and form, essence and accident, and potentiality and actuality, Aristotle laid the foundations for Western speculative thought on the nature of reality. Hugh Lawson--Tancred's translation achieves a read-ability absent from earlier versions, and in a stimulating introductory essay he highlights the central themes of one of philosophy's supreme masterpieces.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #142120 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-01
• Original language: Greek
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780140446197
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Review
"A satisfying and highly accessible exposition of major topics in contemporary metaphysics. Rescher achieves a remarkable synthesis that sensitively integrates Aristotelian realism with a Kantian justification of presuppositions about the existence of a common external world. Rigorously argued with detailed excursions into vital concepts concerning our knowledge of reality, its complexity, lawfulness, and modality, this new book will be profitably read by students and professionals for its valuable insights and new directions in scientific ontology and epistemology." -- Dale Jacquette, Professor of Philosophy, The Pennsylvania State University

Review

"Madigan's volume accomplishes what it aims to do...with its close and careful consideration of the text and its many new proposals for reading specific passages, this volume will be greatly appreciated by those undertaking their own serious study..."--The Review of Metaphysics

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

Customer Reviews

right review, wrong book
Amazon.com, for reasons best known to themselves, have put my review of the Prometheus books translation of Metaphysics under the Penguin books translation (see below). Just to make things perfectly clear, the Prometheus books translation is bad, the Penguin books translation is good. Now, no matter where they put this, the truth will out.

a word to the wise
This translation of Aristotle's Metaphysics is published by NuVision Publications, which says that they are "specializing in rare, out-of-print books still in demand." The translator is W. D. Ross, and the translation was first published by Oxford University Press in the early nineteen thirties. It was later republished by Random House under the editorship of Richard McKeon. It seems that the translation is now in the public domain since the title page has no data on copyright. NuVision is to be commended for making available classics that are out of print. But they have hardly done justice to W. D. Ross. I have only made my way through Book III (out of XIV)of the Metaphysics, but I am distressed by too frequent errors of punctuation, omission of words, change of word order, and a total mangling of the last paragraph of Book III that makes it altogther unintelligible. Aristotle deserves better, and so does the reputation of W. D. Ross.

"New Translation"
This book doesn't touch the quality of Jonathan Barnes or Richard McKeon, but it has an admirable and enamoring quality to it. Those of us familiar with reading lots and lots of Aristotle, recognize in the Stagirite a personality that "philosophy" isn't always interested in.

This translation attempts to bring out more of this personality. I wouldn't recommend this book to a beginner in Aristotle. However, those of us old friends of A's will find this a bit amusing and lovable. Resist the urge to be offended by the liberal translation, and look instead with a bemused eye.