Aristotle's First Principles
Terence Irwin
Abstract
This book explores Aristotle’s view of philosophical methods and the merits of his conclusions. The author emphasises the systemic character of Aristotle’s philosophy by examining questions on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy and mind and ethics. Aristotle’s reliance on dialectic as the method of philosophy appears to conflict with the metaphysical realist view of his conclusions. It is unclear how a coherent account of common beliefs can justify a metaphysical realist’s claims. The author presents Aristotle’s defence of dialectic against this basic objection, and explores the implication ... More
This book explores Aristotle’s view of philosophical methods and the merits of his conclusions. The author emphasises the systemic character of Aristotle’s philosophy by examining questions on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy and mind and ethics. Aristotle’s reliance on dialectic as the method of philosophy appears to conflict with the metaphysical realist view of his conclusions. It is unclear how a coherent account of common beliefs can justify a metaphysical realist’s claims. The author presents Aristotle’s defence of dialectic against this basic objection, and explores the implication of his solution.
Keywords:
Aristotle,
philosophy,
dialectic,
metaphysics,
realism
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 1990 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198242901 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: November 2003 |
DOI:10.1093/0198242905.001.0001 |
