Workshop in Ancient Philosophy (Thursday - Week 4, TT26)

Abstract: There is no consensus whatsoever concerning how to interpret the so-called "argument for a human function (ergon)" in Nicomachean Ethics I 7, and a number of prominent commentators regard Aristotle's reasoning as embarrassingly weak. How might we overcome this interpretive impasse? Inspired by Geertz and Wittgenstein, I propose a different methodology according to which the interpretation of Aristotle's original audience determines the meaning of the passage. Accordingly, after repunctuating and retranslating the text, I offer evidence that Aristotle's original audience would have heard these lines as part of a Hesiodic tradition of thinking about work (ergon). From within this tradition, the audience would not only have agreed that a human being naturally has an ergon, but would also have understood that this ergon is kalon and that humans are morally obliged to achieve it-for themselves, for their families, and for the political community.

Registration: If you do not hold a university card, please contact the seminar convenor or admin@philosophy.ox.ac.uk at least two working days before a seminar to register your attendance.