Why should we read Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics? Because the book is evergreen and we are better human beings for having pondered it. We begin to think about our lives along with our impulses and aspirations more deeply after scrutinizing them all through the prism of the mind of this great philosopher whom Dante later dubbed “the master of those who know”. Intellectually speaking, we become grown-ups. There are signs of hope in the midst of these turbulent times as Aristotle and his thinking are experiencing a renaissance as expressions like “human flourishing” and “the life well lived” find their way back into discussions of what it means to be good and happy in this world. Why are we here? What is the relation of means to ends? How do we go about living a life of purpose? What is the role of friendship in a happy life? Indeed what is the essence of Happiness itself? Tracy Lee Simmons, former associate editor at National Review during the editorship of William F. Buckley and author of Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin, will serve as your practical guide through highlights of this great work on the Good Life.
