Chapter Two - Historical accuracy in Aquinas's commentary on the Ethics

Summary

Aquinas, as a good historian, reads the text of the Ethics closely and tries to work out Aristotle's intention, from the context and from other works. Aquinas's efforts to reconcile his interpretation of the chapter of the EN with his other views about Aristotle require us to understand "rational by participation" in two ways. Once we think more carefully about what historical accuracy might properly involve, we can see why it would be unreasonable to avoid philosophical judgments, and why it might be quite appropriate to rely on one's own philosophical judgment in the exposition of Aristotle. The question should not be about whether interpreters argue on the basis of their philosophical judgment, but about whether their judgment contributes to the understanding of Aristotle's intentions or of his achievement. If we want to reach a historically accurate account of Aristotle, we ought not to ignore Aquinas's contributions to this goal.