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Law and the Good Life
On the Political Philosophy of Aristotle
Brief Description
A fresh reading of the relationship between moral and political philosophy in Aristotle's thought. Our democracies promise the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—at least, within the confines of the law. Yet the law is an ineffective guide to the good life; laws...
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Description
A fresh reading of the relationship between moral and political philosophy in Aristotle's thought.
Our democracies promise the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—at least, within the confines of the law. Yet the law is an ineffective guide to the good life; laws can be arbitrary, even immoral. What other limit, then, should direct us as we pursue our own fulfilment?
In Law and the Good Life, philosopher Robert C. Bartlett examines Aristotle's consideration of this question. Rather than defer to authority, Aristotle invites us to ground ourselves in moral virtue and intellectual fulfilment, an argument he develops in both Politics and Nicomachean Ethics. As political creatures, Aristotle tells us, we are capable of moral action and therefore must embrace that capacity; at the same time, as rational creatures, we must understand what is true, even without regard to action.
In taking these insights together, Bartlett offers a new reading of Aristotle's political philosophy, one he hopes might serve as a prudent lodestar in our own turbulent times.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780226854663
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 18 December 2026
Country: United States
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 454g
Pages: 304
About the Author
Robert C. Bartlett is the Behrakis Professor in Hellenic Political Studies at Boston College. He is the author or editor of thirteen books, including Aristotle’s Art of Rhetoric, also published by the University of Chicago Press.
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