Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Why should we study philosophy? Is it too abstract, too remote from real life, to be of any value? This book examines Aristotle’s response to such questions in the fragments of his Protrepticus. It argues that Aristotle defends philosophy—understood as knowledge of the fundamental causes of nature and of happiness—on the basis of both its utility and its intrinsic value. Philosophy is useful because it enables us to become authoritative judges of how to live well: to reconsider social conventions and chart our own course. But it also has intrinsic value: doing philosophy is either identical with happiness or a part of it, as it is the human function (ergon) and end (telos). For this reason, Aristotle claims, only those who philosophize truly enjoy living a human life. Through a close reading of the Protrepticus, the book also challenges the common view that the work reflects an early, merely Platonic phase of Aristotle’s thought. It shows instead that the Protrepticus articulates positions that are consistent with—and often illuminate—central themes in his extant works. The book thus deepens our understanding of questions such as whether Aristotle’s view of happiness is monistic or inclusive, how he would respond to common objections against his ergon or function arguments, how he justifies teleology in nature, what role practical wisdom plays in virtuous action, and how he conceives of degrees of goodness, being, and living.</jats:p>