Justice in the Eudemian and Nicomachean Ethics

Abstract

Aristotle's two treatises on ethics, Nicomachean (EN) and Eudemian Ethics (EE), have three books in common (EN books V–VII = EE books IV–VI), the so-called “common books,” one of which is a book on justice (EN book V = EE book IV). 1 Aristotle's treatment of justice is the most detailed treatment of any of the virtues in either the EN or the EE. At the same time, it is less polished than the treatment of the other virtues in the undisputed books of the Nicomachean Ethics and in the Eudemian Ethics and shows signs of editorial compilation. 2 It is also the only treatment of a moral virtue common to the EN and the EE; for the others, the EN and the EE have independent treatments. The book on justice is commonly read as part of the Nicomachean Ethics, and only rarely considered in the context of the Eudemian Ethics. In this chapter, I will consider the book on justice in the context of both Ethics, and will consider what the Eudemian Ethics says about justice if we read it with the common book on justice.