---
product_id: 30245386
title: "Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction"
brand: "jonathan barnes"
price: "€ 21.39"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.fr/products/30245386-aristotle-a-very-short-introduction
store_origin: FR
region: France
---

# Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction

**Brand:** jonathan barnes
**Price:** € 21.39
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- **What is this?** Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction by jonathan barnes
- **How much does it cost?** € 21.39 with free shipping
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Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    An excellent introduction, and a vigorous defense
  

*by G***L on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 23, 2013*

The important thing to keep in mind when evaluating this book is that it is intended to be "A Very Short Introduction" to Aristotle, not an in-depth scholarly analysis of everything that Aristotle ever wrote.  In other words, the purpose of this book is to provide the reader with the basic information that he or she needs to know about Aristotle before beginning a serious study of Aristotle's work, nothing more.  So, if you are looking for a book that will explain Aristotle's philosophy in detail, you'll have to look elsewhere.  But if you are looking for a book that will give you a good start in learning about who Aristotle was and what he wrote about, then this is definitely the book you're looking for.  In my estimation, this book strikes a good balance between biography, survey, and apologia, providing the reader with a sound grasp of who Aristotle was, what he wrote, and why he is still worth reading today.  It also strikes a good balance between covering Aristotle the philosopher and Aristotle the naturalist -- between his musings about abstract matters of logic, ethics, and metaphysics, on the one hand, and his empirical observations about biology, physics, and the natural world, on the other.  All in all, this book paints a well-rounded picture of Aristotle's contributions to the intellectual history of the world.Much of this book is devoted to defending Aristotle from his modern-day critics.  While the author is not at all shy about pointing out where Aristotle got it wrong (and Aristotle did get a lot of things wrong), he is quick to quash any criticism of Aristotle that he feels to be unfair -- in particular, criticism from "men who did not read Aristotle's own works with sufficient attention and who criticized him for the faults of his successors" (p. 137).  Some may find the apologia woven throughout the pages of this book to be excessive; but I feel that it is justified, given the stridency of some of Aristotle's detractors.  Aristotle is still important, even today.  But, if you listen to his critics, you might come to the false conclusion that there is no value in studying Aristotle.  So, any introduction to Aristotle has to dispel this unfortunate popular misconception right from the outset.  Students need to know that they're not wasting their time reading Aristotle.  Most of Aristotle's science, and much of his philosophy, has been overtaken by more recent discoveries; but there are still many things of value in Aristotle's writings -- not only in terms of our understanding of the history of ideas, where the contributions of Aristotle can scarcely be overestimated, but also in terms of our understanding of many fundamental philosophical issues that are still relevant today.  So I, for one, have no problem with the author's defense of Aristotle.  After all, any "very short introduction" to the work of an important thinker has to make a case to the reader why that thinker is worth studying in the first place.  If you're a devout anti-Aristotelian, you may feel that this book is pure apologia, bordering on hagiography.  But, personally, I feel that the apologetic aspects of this book are fully warranted, and not at all excessive, given the amount of misdirected criticism that Aristotle so often receives.  As far as I'm concerned, the author's obvious love and respect for Aristotle never detracts from his ability to paint an accurate picture of Aristotle's life and work, warts and all.  He doesn't try to portray Aristotle as perfect, only as misunderstood and misjudged.  He even offers his own criticisms of Aristotle when those criticisms are due.  He simply wants to correct some of the misperceptions that many people seem to have about Aristotle; and I can't fault him for that.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 3.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Too much, too fast, in too little space
  

*by M***R on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 29, 2012*

In reading most any non-fiction book, it's awfully easy to end up critiquing the material presented rather than the book itself.  In this instance, that would be easier than most; for much of that which is presented was written over two thousand years ago.  But this book's author critiques it for us; and that's not what we should be doing anyway.  So we're left to critique only the book and how its material is imparted to the reader.  In my case, that presents a ticklish problem for in reading the book I almost concluded that it should never even have been proposed or written in the first place.I say that because there is no way that the works of Aristotle could possibly be captured in such a brief enterprise; a book of only 141 pages.  He simply did too much, wrote too much, and theorized and hypothesized too much about too many subjects over too long a time to even begin to capture him in this way; unless, of course, the book is intended for those who already know and understand his many works.  There is simply too much material presented here for the uninitiated to even begin to grasp it at such a pace --- including works on logic and language; the arts; ethics, politics and law; constitutional and intellectual history; psychology and physiology; zoology, biology, and botany; chemistry; astronomy; mechanics, and mathematics, metaphysics and the theory of knowledge; and the philosophy of science and the nature of motion, space and time.All this isn't to say that this book's author didn't produce a meaningful volume.  He certainly did, and I'm sure he did as well as anyone else could possibly have done considering the scope of his undertaking.  But, still, it's difficult to discern who the intended audience for such a book as this might be.  The uninitiated couldn't possibly grasp it and the initiated wouldn't be the ones to read it.  The best the average reader can hope for is to get some understanding of just how great a theoretician, philosopher and teacher Aristotle was and marvel at the scope of his life's work.  Perhaps that's enough.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Good for an overview of accomplishments
  

*by K***S on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 7, 2021*

I wanted the book to focus more on Aristotle’s philosophy, logic, and other more complex works. It seemed to give all areas of his studies the same amount of pages. I felt some of those areas, such as the zoology chapter, couldn’t have been reduced to allow for more room on other topics.

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*Last updated: 2026-02-27*