By A.W. Price
OUP (2015) p/b 356pp £22.50 ISBN 9780198709350
This is a book which focuses almost entirely on Plato and Aristotle, and covers a wide range of material from the two philosophers, seeking to point the similarities and the differences, as well as including appraisals of a number of modern commentators. P. offers a balanced and non-partisan account. He adduces an impressive array of textual material, offering clear analyses. His discussion is well structured, so that by the end the reader has a clear picture of this complex and multilayered subject.
The book is divided into four sections, in each of which Plato’s thoughts are presented first, followed by those of Aristotle. The sections deal with (A) eudaimonia (happiness); (B) virtue; (C) phronêsis (practical reasoning); and (D) acrasia (weakness). There is a full bibliography, an index locorum, an index nominum and a general subject index.
Section A demonstrates…
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Price is reading a different Plato from the rest of us. The pursuit of wisdom and balancing the parts of the soul may produce happiness, but the pursuit of happiness *in itself* is not a goal for Plato.