Gabriel Richardson Lear

Gabriel Richardson Lear (Associate Professor of Philosophy) works on ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. Her book, Happy Lives and the Highest Good: An Essay on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (Princeton, 2004), is about the relationship between morally virtuous action and theoretical contemplation in the happiest life. She is currently writing about Plato's aesthetics and about the status of beauty as an ethical concept in the work of several philosophers. She received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Princeton University (2001).

CV (DOC)


Contact

office: Stuart Hall, Room 222
office phone: 773/702-5078
email: grlear@uchicago.edu

Selected Publications

  • Aristotle on Moral Virtue and the Fine (PDF)
  • Permanent Beauty and Becoming Happy in Plato's Symposium (DOC)

Please see my CV (DOC) for a complete list of publications.

Selected Reviews by Gabriel Lear

  • Author(s) of Review: Gabriel Richardson Lear
    Reviewed Work(s): The Reasons of Love by Harry G. Frankfurt
    Ethics, Vol. 116, No. 1, Symposium on Disability (Oct., 2005), pp. 228-234 (Link)

Selected Reviews of Gabriel Lear's Work

  • Author(s) of Review: Pierre Destrée
    Reviewed Work(s): Happy Lives and the Highest Good: An Essay on Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" by Gabriel Richardson Lear
    Ethics, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Apr., 2006), pp. 597-600 (Link)
  • Author(s) of Review: Julia Annas
    Reviewed Work(s): Happy Lives and the Highest Good: An Essay on Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" by Gabriel Richardson Lear
    Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (2005) Link

Recent Courses

21001/31001. Aristotelian Ethics

Open to college and grad students. A careful study of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics with particular emphasis on those aspects that have been most influential in contemporary virtue ethics. (A) Winter 2007.

25000. History of Philosophy - I: Ancient Philosophy

Open to college students. Prerequisites: Completion of the general education requirement in humanities. An examination of ancient Greek philosophical texts that are foundational for Western philosophy, especially the work of Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the nature and possibility of knowledge and its role in human life; the nature of the soul; virtue; happiness and the human good. Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007. _

29600. Junior Seminar: Hedonism

Open to college students. Prerequisites: Open only to third-year students who have been admitted to the intensive concentration program. Hedonism -- the view that pleasure is the human good -- is an extremely attractive theory. Plato offers some of the most nuanced arguments against hedonism and also, through Socrates' interlocutors, some of its most eloquent defenses. We will examine these arguments with the purpose of discovering the nature of pleasure and its role in a life worth choosing. We will end with an examination of Epicurean hedonism with a view to determining how well it accounts for the value of friendship and moral virtue. Autumn 2005.

50220. Plato's Philosophy of Art

Open to grad students. For Plato, the nature of poetry, music, and dance is primarily an ethical matter. Not only do the mimetic arts develop ethical character but also, interestingly, the activity of the poet (or performer) is itself a paradigmatic case of a certain form of life. In this seminar we will study the Ion and relevant selections from the Republic and Laws with a view to understanding these and other issues of concern to Plato (e.g., the ontological status of poetry; the criteria of poetic beauty) in his discussions of mimetic art. Autumn 2007.

51301. Nicomachean Ethics - I

Open to grad students. An examination of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics over two quarters. We will discuss the nature and development of moral virtue, practical and theoretical wisdom, friendship, pleasure, and the contribution they all make to the good life, among other topics. Winter 2004.

51302. Nicomachean Ethics - II

Open to grad students. This is the second quarter of an examination of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics We discuss the nature and development of moral virtue, practical and theoretical wisdom, friendship, pleasure, and the contribution they all make to the good life, among other topics. Spring 2004.

55400. Plato's Protagoras

Open to grad students. This dialogue contains important arguments about whether virtue can be taught, for the unity of the virtues, and against the possibility of weakness of will as well as a bizarre interlude of literary criticism. We will examine them all. This is one of Plato's liveliest dialogues, so we will need to discuss how to take account of the dramatic features of the dialogue in a philosophical interpretation. Autumn 2006.

55700. Aristotle's Poetics

Open to grad students. An examination of Aristotle's theory of tragedy. We will consider the Platonic background as well as passages from Aristotle's ethical and political works in order to understand the notions of mimesis, action, character, and catharsis. Knowledge of Greek appreciated but not required. Winter 2006.

59910. Workshop: Ancient Philosophy

Open to grad students. Autumn 2007, Winter 2008, Spring 2008.