This is not my favorite translation of "Nicomachean Ethics". Much of the texture that I found remarkable in alternate translations has been stripped in an effort to produce clarity with that stripping comes the reduction of complexity. However, if you are looking for a simpler version of the text for students this might fit instructional goals.

Thank you to Penguin Classics for giving me a free digital galley of this book in exchange for feedback.

This is a new translation of "The Nicomachean Ethics." I haven't actually read another translation of this book, but I did bounce hard off of one once, quitting after a few pages. It's amazing what a difference the translation is, isn't it?

This translation is simple, informal, and almost chatty. It's easy to imagine a beloved teacher delivering it as a series of class lectures. The introduction and closing essays give the translator a space to explain his intentions clearly for the reader, explaining why he chose this style over what he refers to as the "scholarly dialect" and what he meant by the English translations of certain key Greek terms. He seems to be assuming an audience of college students and people who are somewhat able to read Greek, but a person like me - no Greek, not taking a class in this topic, and only as much philosophy knowledge as you'd expect a college graduate to have - can still read and appreciate what Aristotle has to say about ethics and the nature of the good life.

I think students are going to appreciate how clear and readable this translation is, though.

Exactly what a reader would expect from Aristotle. Well reasoned and discussed, the updated information is welcomed to new readers in this genre.