Why is a New Polish Translation of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Necessary?

Leszek Skowroński

The main reason is that the present translation (the only Polish translation) contains serious errors. The most important error concerns the conclusion of the treatise. In the present Polish translation the conclusion contradicts that of the original. The first part of this article explains why the translation is wrong and suggests the reason the mistake was made and the reason that it was not noticed for more than half a century. The second part presents the views of commentators criticising the traditional way of interpreting Aristotle’s text. This kind of interpretation leads to a distortion of meaning of the original and the Polish translation is an example of an extreme case of such distortion.

Keywords: Aristotle · Nicomachean Ethics · ethics · morality · eudaimonia · virtues · translation · interpretation

Leszek Skowroński – M. A. in Philosophy (Jagiellonian University), is writing his doctoral thesis on the concept of eudaimonia in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics at IFiS PAN. Research interests: Aristotle’s practical philosophy, ethics, the historiography of philosophy.   »  

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