Metoda dialectică din Etica Nicomahică
The dialectical method in Nicomachean Ethics

Summary/Abstract: Why would Aristotle present us with a gathering of various opinions on a certain ethical topic in the Nicomachean Ethics and why would he assign such an important role to these opinions (endoxa)? What could be the purpose of such an enterprise? I argue that a plausible interpretation of his enterprise is the following: the purpose was not to make an impartial enumeration of what other have said, especially since Aristotle often takes sides in the disputes; rather, the purpose was to present us, the readers, with a guide to rational and logical disputes regarding a problem of ethics – how they should be conducted rather than how they actually are. According to this interpretation, Aristotle’s purpose is not to present what he agrees or disagrees with, but to present what is rational to agree or disagree with.

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