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Owen Goldin

Marquette University, Philosophy, Faculty Member

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Stellenbosch University

University of Exeter

Michael Hauskeller

University of Liverpool

Villanova University

Alcibiades Malapi-Nelson

Humber College

University of Turku

The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad

Connecticut College

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Papers by Owen Goldin

Human Nature and Transhumanism

Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 2025

Proponents of transhumanism argue for the use of medical technologies to transform human nature i... more Proponents of transhumanism argue for the use of medical technologies to transform human nature into something better. Those who are opposed to taking steps in the direction of transhumanism sometimes do so on the basis of an obligation to preserve human nature. But how exactly are we to know what constitutes the human essence that demands protection? Kass's appeal to "the wisdom of repugnance" too easily lends itself to the defense of irrational bias. Although Nussbaum is strongly opposed to Kass's appeal to emotions as a source of reliable ethical intuitions, her capabilities approach to justice provides the foundation for an ethical appeal to a notion of human essence that allows one to avoid mere bias, and can be employed to determine limits to the transformation of humanity.

Kath’ Hauta Predicates and the ‘Commensurate Universals’

Manuscrito, 2019

What lies behind Aristotle's declarations that an attribute or feature that is demonstrated to be... more What lies behind Aristotle's declarations that an attribute or feature that is demonstrated to belong to a scientific subject is proper to that subject? The answer is found in APo. 2.8-10, if we understand these chapters as bearing not only on Aristotle theory of definition but also as clarifying the logical structure of demonstration in general. If we identify the basic subjects with what has no different cause, and demonstrable attributes (the kath' hauta sumbebēkota) with what do have 'a different cause', the definitions of demonstrable attributes necessarily have the minor terms of the appropriate demonstrations in their definitions, for which reason the subjects and demonstrable attributes are coextensive.

Parmenides on Possibility and Thought

Apeiron, 1993

On Aristotle Posterior analytics 1.19-34

Aristotle, Usury, and Nature

Akropolis: Journal of Hellenic Studies, 2023

At Pol. 1.10 1258a40-b8 Aristotle condemns usury as unnatural. There has been little sustained di... more At Pol. 1.10 1258a40-b8 Aristotle condemns usury as unnatural. There has been little sustained discussion on exactly what he means. Is the usurer like Dr. Frankenstein, employing human ingenuity to unduly interfere with the external nonhuman order? Or is it human nature that is being violated? If so, how is this different from any unethical action, which fails to be in accordance with the natural dictates of reason? Investing money in goods to sell for more money, and lending money at interest, are social, political activities which are not appropriate for political life. This is why they are para phusin: not because they violate the teleology of money, as such, but because they are possible only by virtue of established social practices and institutions that are incompatible with human, societal flourishing.

Review of From Empedocles to Wittgenstein: Historical Essays in Philosophy by Anthony Kenny

Notre Dame philosophical reviews, 2009

Reviewed by Owen Goldin, Marquette University From Empedocles to Wittgenstein is a collection of ... more Reviewed by Owen Goldin, Marquette University From Empedocles to Wittgenstein is a collection of essays written by Kenny during the last few years. In his preface Kenny tells us that most are attempts to justify somewhat controversial positions taken in his introductory A New History of Western Philosophy. [1] Most, but not all, have been previously published; some have been revised for this collection. As the title declares, all have their source in issues in the history of philosophy. Together they document the most recent phase in the evolution of the thought of one of the most significant philosophers working today.

Conflict and Cosmopolitanism in Plato and the Stoics

Apeiron, 2011

According to a number of contemporary philosophers, the moral demands to care for those of the sa... more According to a number of contemporary philosophers, the moral demands to care for those of the same nationality are not more pressing than the demands to care for those of a different nation, at least in regard to basic needs and rights. They conclude that national boundaries have little or no moral relevance. The Stoics are admired for being the first in the West to have drawn this conclusion. There is some truth to this; although the Hellenistic era lacked our concept of the "nation", they did have the notion of a people, an ethnos, and did deny that the obligations of justice hold only among members of the same people. However, Stoics, like other ancient philosophers, had complex and nuanced views on this matter. This can be seen especially in the political writings of Cicero, which show clear and direct Stoic influence. Cicero's writings present evidence that some Stoics, like contemporary political thinkers attracted to cosmopolitan ideals, struggled with the tension between the demands of moral impartiality and the recognition of special bonds of moral obligation between those of the same ethnos. If Stoic cosmopolitan thought is to be fully appreciated, it needs to be considered in its philosophical context, as developed in response to earlier philosophical arguments and articulations of everyday morality. A number

Aristotle, the Pythagoreans, and Structural Realism

Review of Metaphysics, 2016

I Two basic QUESTIONS OF PHYSICS ARE: what is the world made of, and why do these constituents do... more I Two basic QUESTIONS OF PHYSICS ARE: what is the world made of, and why do these constituents do the things they do? These two questions are closely related. If certain kinds of things are the ultimate constituents of the world, it can only be because their characteristics explain what we observe to be the case. Further, if it were possible to grasp laws or necessary truths that explain absolutely everything, there would be no need to appeal to any kind that underlies those truths or laws; such a move would do no theoretical work. Nonetheless, in the West most scientists have offered explanations that appeal to both what the basic things or stuff are, and the fundamental features they possess or laws they obey. This approach goes back to Aristotle, who insisted that explanation in physics requires identifying both a material substrate and a formal basis for what is to be explained. He argued that this holds in regard to explaining both the existence of substances and the fact that ...

Philoponus, On Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics 1.19-34 (translation with notes and introduction)

Symbolic Classification and the Emergence of a Metaphysics of Causality

Review of Metaphysics, 2022

This article considers two cases in which developed Western metaphysics confronted archaic ways o... more This article considers two cases in which developed Western metaphysics confronted archaic ways of understanding the world. The first is Aristotle’s account of the Pythagorean “Table of Opposites”, ascribed in Metaphysics I 5 to some Pythagorean thinkers. As anthropologists have suggested, this is a systemization of modes of thought present in archaic Greek thought; as the first such systemization, it is the origin of European metatheory. The second is the attempt of anthropologist Evans-Pritchard to account for beliefs of the Nuer, such as that “cucumbers are oxen” and “twins are birds,” and the debate that it occasioned within the communities of anthropologists and specialists in African philosophy. The two archaic ontologies in question share a logic reflected in “symbolic classification”. This forms the conceptual basis of Aristotelian metatheory. The major innovation of the Greek philosophical tradition is the integration of this logic with notions of causal priority and posteriority.

Monism, Metaphysics, and Paradox

Knowing and Being in Ancient Philosophy, ed. D. Bloom, L. Bloom, and M. Byrd, Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan,73-95., 2022

Pre-publication draft I Paradox has been defined as "an apparently unacceptable conclusion derive... more Pre-publication draft I Paradox has been defined as "an apparently unacceptable conclusion derived by apparently acceptable reasoning from apparently acceptable premises." 2 Metaphysical premises seem especially prone to generate paradox. This is for two reasons. Many paradoxes (call them R paradoxes) arise as a result of recursive reference, in which a statement, or part of a statement, explicitly or implicitly refers to itself. Examples are the liar paradox ("this sentence is a lie") and the Russell paradox ("Is the set of all sets that are not members of themselves a member of itself?"). 3 Metaphysical paradoxes are prone to recursive reference as metaphysical discourse itself is an aspect of reality for which metaphysics must give an account. For example, a radical metaphysical relativism, according to which any position is true only relative to a particular believer or belief system, generates a paradox as a result of a "turning of tables" argument, like that of Plato's Theaetetus 170c-171c.

The Pythagorean Table of Opposites, Symbolic Classification, and Aristotle

Science in Context, 2015

ArgumentAtMetaphysicsA 5 986a22-b2, Aristotle refers to a Pythagorean table, with two columns of ... more ArgumentAtMetaphysicsA 5 986a22-b2, Aristotle refers to a Pythagorean table, with two columns of paired opposites. I argue that 1) although Burkert and Zhmud have argued otherwise, there is sufficient textual evidence to indicate that the table, or one much like it, is indeed of Pythagorean origin; 2) research in structural anthropology indicates that the tables are a formalization of arrays of “symbolic classification” which express a pre-scientific world view with social and ethical implications, according to which the presence of a principle on one column of the table will carry with it another principle within the same column; 3) a close analysis of…

Binghamton ( The ORB ) The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter 4-1994 Aristotle on Good and Bad Actualities

This paper is a discussion of one of the more neglected passages in the central books of Ac istot... more This paper is a discussion of one of the more neglected passages in the central books of Ac istotle*s Metaphysics, Θ 9 105la4~19. In this passage Aristotle makes some assertions concerning relations that hold among potentialities and actualities, both good and bad. These assertions seem to be made as an afterthought, and their relation to the analysis of potentiality and actuality that precedes is unclear.

Review of Theory and Practice in Aristotle's Natural Science

The Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2016

Ciceronian Business Ethics

The teaching and practice of business must resist ethical compartmentalization. One engaged in bu... more The teaching and practice of business must resist ethical compartmentalization. One engaged in business ought not check moral principles at the door and say "business is business," for this is to pretend that when one is engaged in business, one is no longer a human being, with the rational nature, emotional constitution, and social bonds that are at the root of our ethical nature. Ethical standards apply to business as they do all aspects of human life. Nonetheless, making money is the goal of business, and more often than not, one is trying to take money from another, at the least possible cost. Such action is necessarily self-centered, if not selfish, and requires acting in a way that we would not want to see people act in all of their dealings with others, especially in regard to family, friends, and others with whom they have special social bonds. Granting that business practices are not compartmentalized against all ethical considerations, the fact that business demands maximization of profit entails that special rules apply. Determining what these are, in what circumstances they are less demanding than the ethical principles of everyday life, and in what circumstances they are more demanding, is the domain of business ethics, as a special domain of ethical philosophy. The first surviving text in which these matters are discussed is Cicero's De Officiis. Cicero and the Stoic sources on which his thought is based argue that all human activities cannot be governed by the same set of moral principles. For Cicero, this does not mean that the businessperson's actions are amoral, located in a sphere of life to which the ethical principles are inapplicable. Rather, moral theory at its very foundations demands different kinds of behavior for different people engaged in different activities. The businessperson ought to pursue profit, since society is best served by his or her doing so. But when the pursuit of profit conflicts with

Book Reveiew of Aristotle on Definition , by Marquerite Deslauriers

Creation and Causality in Chasidic Kabbalism

n important strain of medieval Jewish thought, kabbala, finds its most explicit and rationalistic... more n important strain of medieval Jewish thought, kabbala, finds its most explicit and rationalistic exposition within the Chasidic philosophical tradition. A key work is the Tanya of R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi ("the Alter Rebbe," 1745-1812) the founder of the Lubavitch or Chabad movement. Kabbalistic interpretation, speculation, and practice had been traditionally understood to be too dangerous for all but those who had reached the highest levels of spiritual and intellectual achievement. For R. Schneur Zalman, on the other hand, all people share the intellectual faculties by which the metaphysical structure of the cosmos can to some extent be grasped. A straightforward, philosophical exposition of these teachings could allow all who study it to under s tand as much as they are able, which, he thought, could only be to the good. 1 The second book of the Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah (/'he Gate to [the Understanding of} G-d 's Unity and the Faith) deals with the relation between the existence of God and that of other things, most importantly, that of human beings. R. Schneur Zalman argues that, if God is the truly first cause, He must be self-sufficit:nt, which in turn means that He lacks nothing

Commentary on Halper

Review of Allan Gotthelf's Teleology, First Principles, and Scientific Method in Aristotle's Biology and James G. Lennox and Robert Bolton's (ed.) Being, Nature, and Life in Aristotle

Although readers of Reason Papers are no doubt familiar with Allan Gotthelf's extensive efforts a... more Although readers of Reason Papers are no doubt familiar with Allan Gotthelf's extensive efforts aimed at a more widespread appreciation of Ayn Rand's philosophical thought, he is best known among historians of philosophy and science for his contributions to the understanding of Aristotle's biological works, which have shed much light on Aristotle's scientific methodology, epistemology, and metaphysics. Two new books allow us to take account of Gotthelf's contributions to Aristotelian studies. The first is a collection of Gotthelf's most important papers on Aristotle. 1 Although the papers were written independently, there is little superfluous repetition, and taken together they constitute a comprehensive and coherent account of Aristotle's biology and its philosophical significance. The second, which has its origin in a 2004 conference in Gotthelf's honor, is a collection of papers on Aristotle, most of which focus on themes that Gotthelf himself has discussed. 2 Some of the papers further his thought, taking it in new directions; others depart from Gotthelf in philosophically interesting ways. Gotthelf believes that one of his most important contributions to Aristotelian studies lies in his account of teleology in the biological writings. For this he gives credit to Rand (p. viii) (who personally led Gotthelf to the study of Aristotle), for she had argued that scientific explanation must identify potentials inherent in natures. This was in contrast to the predominant empiricist strategy of taking explanation to be a matter of subsuming an

Review of Eco-Republic: What the Ancients Can Teach Us about Ethics, Virtue, and Sustainability , by Melissa Lane

Polis: the journal for ancient greek political thought, 2012

Human Nature and Transhumanism

Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 2025

Proponents of transhumanism argue for the use of medical technologies to transform human nature i... more Proponents of transhumanism argue for the use of medical technologies to transform human nature into something better. Those who are opposed to taking steps in the direction of transhumanism sometimes do so on the basis of an obligation to preserve human nature. But how exactly are we to know what constitutes the human essence that demands protection? Kass's appeal to "the wisdom of repugnance" too easily lends itself to the defense of irrational bias. Although Nussbaum is strongly opposed to Kass's appeal to emotions as a source of reliable ethical intuitions, her capabilities approach to justice provides the foundation for an ethical appeal to a notion of human essence that allows one to avoid mere bias, and can be employed to determine limits to the transformation of humanity.

Kath’ Hauta Predicates and the ‘Commensurate Universals’

Manuscrito, 2019

What lies behind Aristotle's declarations that an attribute or feature that is demonstrated to be... more What lies behind Aristotle's declarations that an attribute or feature that is demonstrated to belong to a scientific subject is proper to that subject? The answer is found in APo. 2.8-10, if we understand these chapters as bearing not only on Aristotle theory of definition but also as clarifying the logical structure of demonstration in general. If we identify the basic subjects with what has no different cause, and demonstrable attributes (the kath' hauta sumbebēkota) with what do have 'a different cause', the definitions of demonstrable attributes necessarily have the minor terms of the appropriate demonstrations in their definitions, for which reason the subjects and demonstrable attributes are coextensive.

Parmenides on Possibility and Thought

Apeiron, 1993

On Aristotle Posterior analytics 1.19-34

Aristotle, Usury, and Nature

Akropolis: Journal of Hellenic Studies, 2023

At Pol. 1.10 1258a40-b8 Aristotle condemns usury as unnatural. There has been little sustained di... more At Pol. 1.10 1258a40-b8 Aristotle condemns usury as unnatural. There has been little sustained discussion on exactly what he means. Is the usurer like Dr. Frankenstein, employing human ingenuity to unduly interfere with the external nonhuman order? Or is it human nature that is being violated? If so, how is this different from any unethical action, which fails to be in accordance with the natural dictates of reason? Investing money in goods to sell for more money, and lending money at interest, are social, political activities which are not appropriate for political life. This is why they are para phusin: not because they violate the teleology of money, as such, but because they are possible only by virtue of established social practices and institutions that are incompatible with human, societal flourishing.

Review of From Empedocles to Wittgenstein: Historical Essays in Philosophy by Anthony Kenny

Notre Dame philosophical reviews, 2009

Reviewed by Owen Goldin, Marquette University From Empedocles to Wittgenstein is a collection of ... more Reviewed by Owen Goldin, Marquette University From Empedocles to Wittgenstein is a collection of essays written by Kenny during the last few years. In his preface Kenny tells us that most are attempts to justify somewhat controversial positions taken in his introductory A New History of Western Philosophy. [1] Most, but not all, have been previously published; some have been revised for this collection. As the title declares, all have their source in issues in the history of philosophy. Together they document the most recent phase in the evolution of the thought of one of the most significant philosophers working today.

Conflict and Cosmopolitanism in Plato and the Stoics

Apeiron, 2011

According to a number of contemporary philosophers, the moral demands to care for those of the sa... more According to a number of contemporary philosophers, the moral demands to care for those of the same nationality are not more pressing than the demands to care for those of a different nation, at least in regard to basic needs and rights. They conclude that national boundaries have little or no moral relevance. The Stoics are admired for being the first in the West to have drawn this conclusion. There is some truth to this; although the Hellenistic era lacked our concept of the "nation", they did have the notion of a people, an ethnos, and did deny that the obligations of justice hold only among members of the same people. However, Stoics, like other ancient philosophers, had complex and nuanced views on this matter. This can be seen especially in the political writings of Cicero, which show clear and direct Stoic influence. Cicero's writings present evidence that some Stoics, like contemporary political thinkers attracted to cosmopolitan ideals, struggled with the tension between the demands of moral impartiality and the recognition of special bonds of moral obligation between those of the same ethnos. If Stoic cosmopolitan thought is to be fully appreciated, it needs to be considered in its philosophical context, as developed in response to earlier philosophical arguments and articulations of everyday morality. A number

Aristotle, the Pythagoreans, and Structural Realism

Review of Metaphysics, 2016

I Two basic QUESTIONS OF PHYSICS ARE: what is the world made of, and why do these constituents do... more I Two basic QUESTIONS OF PHYSICS ARE: what is the world made of, and why do these constituents do the things they do? These two questions are closely related. If certain kinds of things are the ultimate constituents of the world, it can only be because their characteristics explain what we observe to be the case. Further, if it were possible to grasp laws or necessary truths that explain absolutely everything, there would be no need to appeal to any kind that underlies those truths or laws; such a move would do no theoretical work. Nonetheless, in the West most scientists have offered explanations that appeal to both what the basic things or stuff are, and the fundamental features they possess or laws they obey. This approach goes back to Aristotle, who insisted that explanation in physics requires identifying both a material substrate and a formal basis for what is to be explained. He argued that this holds in regard to explaining both the existence of substances and the fact that ...

Philoponus, On Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics 1.19-34 (translation with notes and introduction)

Symbolic Classification and the Emergence of a Metaphysics of Causality

Review of Metaphysics, 2022

This article considers two cases in which developed Western metaphysics confronted archaic ways o... more This article considers two cases in which developed Western metaphysics confronted archaic ways of understanding the world. The first is Aristotle’s account of the Pythagorean “Table of Opposites”, ascribed in Metaphysics I 5 to some Pythagorean thinkers. As anthropologists have suggested, this is a systemization of modes of thought present in archaic Greek thought; as the first such systemization, it is the origin of European metatheory. The second is the attempt of anthropologist Evans-Pritchard to account for beliefs of the Nuer, such as that “cucumbers are oxen” and “twins are birds,” and the debate that it occasioned within the communities of anthropologists and specialists in African philosophy. The two archaic ontologies in question share a logic reflected in “symbolic classification”. This forms the conceptual basis of Aristotelian metatheory. The major innovation of the Greek philosophical tradition is the integration of this logic with notions of causal priority and posteriority.

Monism, Metaphysics, and Paradox

Knowing and Being in Ancient Philosophy, ed. D. Bloom, L. Bloom, and M. Byrd, Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan,73-95., 2022

Pre-publication draft I Paradox has been defined as "an apparently unacceptable conclusion derive... more Pre-publication draft I Paradox has been defined as "an apparently unacceptable conclusion derived by apparently acceptable reasoning from apparently acceptable premises." 2 Metaphysical premises seem especially prone to generate paradox. This is for two reasons. Many paradoxes (call them R paradoxes) arise as a result of recursive reference, in which a statement, or part of a statement, explicitly or implicitly refers to itself. Examples are the liar paradox ("this sentence is a lie") and the Russell paradox ("Is the set of all sets that are not members of themselves a member of itself?"). 3 Metaphysical paradoxes are prone to recursive reference as metaphysical discourse itself is an aspect of reality for which metaphysics must give an account. For example, a radical metaphysical relativism, according to which any position is true only relative to a particular believer or belief system, generates a paradox as a result of a "turning of tables" argument, like that of Plato's Theaetetus 170c-171c.

The Pythagorean Table of Opposites, Symbolic Classification, and Aristotle

Science in Context, 2015

ArgumentAtMetaphysicsA 5 986a22-b2, Aristotle refers to a Pythagorean table, with two columns of ... more ArgumentAtMetaphysicsA 5 986a22-b2, Aristotle refers to a Pythagorean table, with two columns of paired opposites. I argue that 1) although Burkert and Zhmud have argued otherwise, there is sufficient textual evidence to indicate that the table, or one much like it, is indeed of Pythagorean origin; 2) research in structural anthropology indicates that the tables are a formalization of arrays of “symbolic classification” which express a pre-scientific world view with social and ethical implications, according to which the presence of a principle on one column of the table will carry with it another principle within the same column; 3) a close analysis of…

Binghamton ( The ORB ) The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter 4-1994 Aristotle on Good and Bad Actualities

This paper is a discussion of one of the more neglected passages in the central books of Ac istot... more This paper is a discussion of one of the more neglected passages in the central books of Ac istotle*s Metaphysics, Θ 9 105la4~19. In this passage Aristotle makes some assertions concerning relations that hold among potentialities and actualities, both good and bad. These assertions seem to be made as an afterthought, and their relation to the analysis of potentiality and actuality that precedes is unclear.

Review of Theory and Practice in Aristotle's Natural Science

The Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2016

Ciceronian Business Ethics

The teaching and practice of business must resist ethical compartmentalization. One engaged in bu... more The teaching and practice of business must resist ethical compartmentalization. One engaged in business ought not check moral principles at the door and say "business is business," for this is to pretend that when one is engaged in business, one is no longer a human being, with the rational nature, emotional constitution, and social bonds that are at the root of our ethical nature. Ethical standards apply to business as they do all aspects of human life. Nonetheless, making money is the goal of business, and more often than not, one is trying to take money from another, at the least possible cost. Such action is necessarily self-centered, if not selfish, and requires acting in a way that we would not want to see people act in all of their dealings with others, especially in regard to family, friends, and others with whom they have special social bonds. Granting that business practices are not compartmentalized against all ethical considerations, the fact that business demands maximization of profit entails that special rules apply. Determining what these are, in what circumstances they are less demanding than the ethical principles of everyday life, and in what circumstances they are more demanding, is the domain of business ethics, as a special domain of ethical philosophy. The first surviving text in which these matters are discussed is Cicero's De Officiis. Cicero and the Stoic sources on which his thought is based argue that all human activities cannot be governed by the same set of moral principles. For Cicero, this does not mean that the businessperson's actions are amoral, located in a sphere of life to which the ethical principles are inapplicable. Rather, moral theory at its very foundations demands different kinds of behavior for different people engaged in different activities. The businessperson ought to pursue profit, since society is best served by his or her doing so. But when the pursuit of profit conflicts with

Book Reveiew of Aristotle on Definition , by Marquerite Deslauriers

Creation and Causality in Chasidic Kabbalism

n important strain of medieval Jewish thought, kabbala, finds its most explicit and rationalistic... more n important strain of medieval Jewish thought, kabbala, finds its most explicit and rationalistic exposition within the Chasidic philosophical tradition. A key work is the Tanya of R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi ("the Alter Rebbe," 1745-1812) the founder of the Lubavitch or Chabad movement. Kabbalistic interpretation, speculation, and practice had been traditionally understood to be too dangerous for all but those who had reached the highest levels of spiritual and intellectual achievement. For R. Schneur Zalman, on the other hand, all people share the intellectual faculties by which the metaphysical structure of the cosmos can to some extent be grasped. A straightforward, philosophical exposition of these teachings could allow all who study it to under s tand as much as they are able, which, he thought, could only be to the good. 1 The second book of the Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah (/'he Gate to [the Understanding of} G-d 's Unity and the Faith) deals with the relation between the existence of God and that of other things, most importantly, that of human beings. R. Schneur Zalman argues that, if God is the truly first cause, He must be self-sufficit:nt, which in turn means that He lacks nothing

Commentary on Halper

Review of Allan Gotthelf's Teleology, First Principles, and Scientific Method in Aristotle's Biology and James G. Lennox and Robert Bolton's (ed.) Being, Nature, and Life in Aristotle

Although readers of Reason Papers are no doubt familiar with Allan Gotthelf's extensive efforts a... more Although readers of Reason Papers are no doubt familiar with Allan Gotthelf's extensive efforts aimed at a more widespread appreciation of Ayn Rand's philosophical thought, he is best known among historians of philosophy and science for his contributions to the understanding of Aristotle's biological works, which have shed much light on Aristotle's scientific methodology, epistemology, and metaphysics. Two new books allow us to take account of Gotthelf's contributions to Aristotelian studies. The first is a collection of Gotthelf's most important papers on Aristotle. 1 Although the papers were written independently, there is little superfluous repetition, and taken together they constitute a comprehensive and coherent account of Aristotle's biology and its philosophical significance. The second, which has its origin in a 2004 conference in Gotthelf's honor, is a collection of papers on Aristotle, most of which focus on themes that Gotthelf himself has discussed. 2 Some of the papers further his thought, taking it in new directions; others depart from Gotthelf in philosophically interesting ways. Gotthelf believes that one of his most important contributions to Aristotelian studies lies in his account of teleology in the biological writings. For this he gives credit to Rand (p. viii) (who personally led Gotthelf to the study of Aristotle), for she had argued that scientific explanation must identify potentials inherent in natures. This was in contrast to the predominant empiricist strategy of taking explanation to be a matter of subsuming an

Review of Eco-Republic: What the Ancients Can Teach Us about Ethics, Virtue, and Sustainability , by Melissa Lane

Polis: the journal for ancient greek political thought, 2012