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Lee hopes to use NEH fellowship to break new philosophical ground

Aristotle may be the most influential philosopher in history, a cornerstone of Western philosophy. But at a time when many see the pursuit of money as a virtue in itself, some might dismiss him as an old Greek hippie.

鈥淗e offered one of the great answers to the question, 鈥榃hat should a good life look like?鈥� His answer was that pursuit of money by itself, pursuit of fame and power by themselves, are not enough to make a life well lived,鈥� says听, associate professor of听. 鈥淚nstead, it must be a life in which you realize your human capacities鈥攎ake the most of yourself, as we would put it.鈥�

In other words, Aristotle matters. Now, having recently received fellowship from the听, Lee plans to break new ground with the first book-length treatment in English鈥攁nd the first in any language since 1937鈥攐f justice as it relates to Aristotle鈥檚 ideas on ethics鈥攁nd how to live a good life.

鈥淎lthough Aristotle on justice is a very old topic, it remains a very mysterious one. It is hard to understand exactly what Aristotle鈥檚 view is, and hard to connect it with our modern thinking about justice,鈥� says听, professor of philosophy at CU-Boulder.

鈥淢itzi听has developed some extremely creative and persuasive ideas about how to understand Aristotle鈥檚 view, and has made his thinking seem much more relevant to our modern concerns than the prevailing interpretations would have it.鈥�

鈥淐ontrary to a common understanding of Aristotle, virtue, not justice, is at the core of his moral and political writings,鈥� Lee says.

"Contrary to a common understanding of Aristotle, virtue, not justice, is at the core of his moral and political writings.鈥�

It all starts with shaky translation. The Greek word 鈥渄ikaiosun锚,鈥� often translated as 鈥渏ustice,鈥� is perhaps better understood as 鈥渞ighteousness鈥� or even 鈥渕oral goodness,鈥� says Lee, who fell in love with philosophy as an undergraduate at Columbia University and earned a Ph.D. in ancient Greek philosophy from Harvard.

鈥淚n English, it鈥檚 a little bit odd to call a person 鈥榡ust,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淲e tend to associate justice with institutions, justice as fairness.鈥�

But for the Greeks, the notion included the idea of being a law-abiding citizen who acts with respect toward others in society鈥斺�淚t鈥檚 actually a lot closer to what we think of as morality,鈥� Lee says.

Scholars and students have long steered clear of approaching justice in Aristotle. His treatment of the subject in his famous听Nicomachean Ethics听seems cursory, cryptic and inconsistent鈥斺�渓ike a first draft,鈥� Lee says. Meanwhile, his听Politics听is widely deemed a product of its time in its treatment of women, slaves and the poor.

But in听Justice in Aristotle鈥檚 Ethics and Political Philosophy, the working title for the new book, Lee wants to make clear how critical the idea of justice is to the philosopher鈥檚 ethical theory.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to show the connections between his ethical and political theories, what our relations with others should be, are much tighter than what people want to give him credit for,鈥� Lee says.

Despite the fact that more Americans, including policymakers, seem to view higher education as primarily a place for students to hone their resumes in a quest for a better paycheck, such questions, and philosophy itself, are key to making good citizens.

鈥淢ost college students never studied philosophy in high school, and they tend to think it鈥檚 the preserve of novelists or ministers, religious thinkers and psychologists,鈥� Lee says.

鈥淏ut philosophy is devoted to making good arguments, what it is to have knowledge, versus mere opinion, and those are critical skills. My colleagues and I like to think that a good humanities degree, or science degree, will serve students better than if they are only thinking about how much money they are going to make.鈥�

Clay Evans is director of communications for CU Presents.