Aristotle's Ethics Today
International Conference organized by De Wulf–Mansion Centre, Institute of Philosophy (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) — Centre De Wulf–Mansion, Institut supérieur de Philosophie (Université Catholique de Louvain–la–Neuve)
Aristotle’s ethics has never been outdated, and its influence on any kind of moral philosophy has always been acknowledged, even within ethical systems where virtue ethics is no longer the central perspective. Indeed, many “schools” in contemporary ethics have recourse to Aristotelian patterns to establish their views on moral excellence and happiness.
If the influence of Aristotelian ethics has been since long acknowledged, then why should one organize a conference on “Aristotle’s Ethics Today”? The present conference wants to invert the viewpoint: rather than to see how contemporary ethics returns to Aristotle, we want to investigate how Aristotelian scholarship explores and assesses the dialogue between Aristotelian and contemporary ethics.
More specifically, this conference raises two central questions: 1. How does contemporary Aristotelian scholarship contribute to present–day ethical debates? The recognition of Aristotle’s influence goes hand in hand with an ongoing refinement and reassessment of our understanding of central Aristotelian concepts, like moral value, virtue, choice, etc. Time has come for a reappraisal. 2. How does Aristotelian scholarship position itself over against contemporary discussions? Can Aristotelian theory still stand after, e.g., the “person–situation debate”? Does Aristotle bring any added value to the present–day state of the art in ethics?
In order to discuss these questions, we have brought together a number of the world’s most renowned specialists in the field of Aristotelian ethics.