Necessity, Cause, and Blame: Perspectives on Aristotle's Theory

Necessity, Cause and Blame is a wonderful book, lucidly written and engaging. It is a book an Aristotle's philosophy as well as being a book on philosophy in its own right. Sorabji focuses on Aristotle's treatment of determinism, although the reader will also be informed of the views of Aristotle's predecessors and his successors along the way. But determinism is still very much a matter of debate among philosophers today and so this book will be of interest not only to the student of the history of philosophy, but also to students of (and anyone interested in) contemporary philosophy. Sorabji discusses such topics as time, causation, explanation, necessity, coincidences, essence, purpose in nature and voluntariness in order to cast light on Aristotle's theory (whom he takes to be an indeterminist). He discusses many famous passages in Aristotle's writings, such as the 'sea battle', and other less known passages as well, but his discussion never becomes a mere exegesis. It is always engagingly written, for Sorabji is primarily interested in arguments that are relevant for us today and that are able to compete with contemporary theories. Anyone interested in Aristotle's philosophy, determinism or questions about moral responsibility posed by the determinist would do well to read this book. Its scholarship is admirable, its philosophical acuteness inspiring.