Reddit reviews Aristotle: The Desire to Understand

Read this book: [Jonathan Lear's The Desire to Understand] (http://www.amazon.com/Aristotle-Desire-Understand-Jonathan-Lear/dp/0521347629)

It is exactly what you want, and a great book.

If however you want to start with (comparatively) easy Aristotle text, you're best bet is probably the Nicomachean Ethics. (And if for some reason you want a comprehensible survey book on Aristotle's work this one is quite good: https://www.amazon.com/Aristotle-Desire-Understand-Jonathan-Lear/dp/0521347629 )

Wow ... yes, with the caveat that I'm far from the best historian on these boards. Maybe /u/wokeupabug or /u/Son_of_Sophroniscus can do better. Many students find the Nicomachean Ethics clear, philosophically informative, and stimulating for advice about how to live your life. But there are accessible and interesting passages from most of his works. One good approach is to use an Aristotle reader, since the editor will have selected appropriate texts already. I read Ackrill's A new Aristotle reader as an undergraduate and liked it, but you should shop around for more informed suggestions.

I like the idea of reading Aristotle alongside contemporary commentary. Here I'm even more hesitant to make my own recommendations, but I found Lear's Aristotle: The desire to understand extremely interesting and easy to follow.

One thing to bear in mind is that there are many good contemporary philosophers from whom you can learn as well. David Lewis, Saul Kripke, Judy Thompson, and David Kaplan are a few known for admirable clarity and depth of thought. It's hard to go wrong with their articles, with the exception that some are on technical or esoteric topics, so if it looks foreboding just skip it.

Take a look at Jonathan Lear's introduction to Arsitotle, Aristotle: The Desire to Understand CLICK HERE. It is written in plain and claer langauge - there is no better intro imho and he has a chapter on A's ethics and a short but extreamly helpful section on "Happiness" or flourishing (eudaimonia is the Greek word). Having said that, you are very close; the only think I would say is that the virtuous person would do what is right, after much practice, without having to really think it through; and not out of fear of consequences, but because it is good/right in and of itself. Also, that little voice usually tells you then it would be wrong (Socrates said he had such a little voice, he called it his daimon), but that is not the same as knowing what is actually right. The practice of virtue is positive, meant to build up character in such a way that flourishing ("happiness") continues. Hope this helps!