By Gregory Salmieri
This course is a survey of the essential content of Aristotle's ethics with a focus on his methodology. Students will see how an inductive approach to ethics leads Aristotle to identify the moral man as a proud "lover of self" who achieves happiness by exercising reason in every sphere of his life. Attention is also paid to why Aristotle makes some significant errors (such as endorsing slavery and denying that any virtue is involved in making money) and to the relationship between Aristotle's approach to ethics and Ayn Rand's.
The course has no prerequisites, but advanced students will appreciate integrations with Ayn Rand's intellectual development and Dr. Peikoff's Objectivism Through Induction.
This course was recorded at the 2003 Objectivist Summer Conference in Industry Hills, CA.
(MP3 download; 5 hrs., 57 min., 257 MB)
