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ETHICS & POLITICS, ANCIENT & MODERN
Ben Miller (PhD Stanford Philosophy)
Friday February 08, 2013 | 03:15 -05:00 PM | 90

Title:

"Understanding the kalon as an ethical concept in Aristotle"

Abstract:

"Throughout the ethical works, Aristotle leans on the concept of the kalon when he is explaining virtue, the virtuous person, and things with ethical value. Despite his reliance on the concept, Aristotle never gives us an analysis of it. In this paper, I give an account of the kalon, and argue that the concept is (1) central to Aristotle's ethical framework, (2) that it cannot, as some commentators have claimed, be reduced to the notions of "acting well" or "acting for the sake of virtue," and (3) that the kalon is a decidedly ancient concept, one that has no equivalent in modern ethical thought."

Commentator: Chris Bobonich (Stanford Philosophy)