The ‘Belonging to a Kind’ Reading of the Eudemian Ergon Argument

Abstract

Aristotle does not uniquely specify, much less define, eudaimonia in the EE’s ergon argument (1218b31-1219a39). He concludes simply that eudaimonia belongs to a certain kind. That Aristotle claims to have offered a horos of eudaimonia (1219a39-40) does not show that he has uniquely specified eudaimonia. This interpretation has implications for our understanding of Aristotle’s Eudemian account of eudaimonia; of Eudemian methodology; and of his use of ergon argument more generally.