Does Aristotle owe a Palinode to Eros? 1 Despite his extensive coverage of philia in the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle apparently did not see fit to address the notion of eros with any similar rigor. What we get instead are simply a collection of scattered remarks used as throwaway counterexamples and comparisons. Yet it seems natural to ask why this is. As Plato’s student, there can be little doubt that he was familiar with the role eros plays in his works, particularly in the Symposium and the Phaedrus. Nor could Plato be construed has having merely philosophized about eros. Rather for Plato, to philosophize was to engage in eros. Ronna Burger has attempted an explanation of this lacuna in a series of related articles, 2 making the case that Aristotle has followed Plato, and that the three speech model of the Phaedrus can be mapped onto books VIII and IX of the Nicomachean Ethics, arguing that what results is a rehabilitation of eros into philia. 3 However, I fail to see the merit of this argument. On my reading, there seems to be very little to suggest that such a rehabilitation is Aristotle’s intent. Tyler Viale Boston College DRAFT PAPER: DO NOT CITE WITHOUT AUTHOR’S PERMISSION 1 A version of this paper was originally presented at the 2014 Emory University Graduate Philosophy Conference 2 Burger has written on the issue in at least three places, with the three being similar, but slightly altered accounts of the same thesis: “Hunting Together or Philosophizing Together: Friendship and Eros in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics” in Love and Friendship: Rethinking Politics and Affection in Modern Times, ed. Eduardo A. Valasquez; “The Non-Lover in Aristotle’s Ethics” in Logos and Eros: Essays Honoring Stanley Rosen , ed. Nalin Ranasinghe; as well as a brief account “Friendship, Eros, and Philosophy” in her own book Aristotle’s Dialogue With Socrates. All three present essentially the same argument, differing primarily in the examples given and length of treatment. For this paper I will refer to “The Non-Lover in Aristotle’s Ethics,” which I take to be the fullest elaboration of the argument 3 Others, including Martha Nussbaum and Juha Sihvola have also produced arguments regarding Aristotle’s concept of eros, though often relying works outside of the Ethics, particularly the Rhetoric, Topics and Prior Analytics. However, I find it problematic to use examples that Aristotle is raising simply to display properties of speech-giving or syllogistic reasoning and hold them out as his own opinion. A full argument on this topic is beyond the scope of this paper, which will confine itself to Aristotle’s ethical works.