How Aristotle Would Summarize "500 Days of Summer"

Aristotelian Summary (5 sentences)

Tom suffers from akrasia (ἀκρασία) - acting against his knowledge that Summer doesn't want commitment. He mistakes romantic love for eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία), making another person his telos (τέλος) rather than developing his own arete (ἀρετή). Through repeated disappointment, his hexis (ἕξις) slowly changes as he learns phronesis (φρόνησις) about relationships. His suffering serves as catharsis (κάθαρσις), leading to anagnorisis (ἀναγνώρισις) - the recognition that happiness must come from within. By the end, he achieves mesotes (μεσότης) in love - neither excessive attachment nor emotional withdrawal.

How Aristotle Would Summarize "Yes Man"

Aristotelian Summary (5 sentences)

Carl begins in a state of stasis (στάσις) - avoiding his ergon (ἔργον) as a social being through constant rejection of opportunities. His transformation through saying "yes" represents movement from hexis (ἕξις) of withdrawal toward energeia (ἐνέργεια) - actualizing his human potential. However, his extreme commitment to "yes" violates mesotes (μεσότης), swinging from deficiency (always saying no) to excess (never saying no). Through peripeteia (περιπέτεια) - his relationship troubles - he learns phronesis (φρόνησις) about when to say yes and when to say no. He achieves eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία) not through blind positivity, but through practical wisdom in choosing which opportunities serve human flourishing.

How Aristotle Would Summarize "It's Kind of a Funny Story"

Aristotelian Summary (5 sentences)

Craig suffers from dysthymia leading to akrasia (ἀκρασία) - knowing he should value life but acting against this knowledge through suicidal ideation. His hospitalization forces him to confront his false telos (τέλος) - believing academic/social success equals eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία). Through koinonia (κοινωνία) with fellow patients, he develops philia (φιλία) based on mutual understanding rather than superficial achievement. His artistic awakening represents energeia (ἐνέργεια) - actualizing his creative ergon (ἔργον) rather than pursuing others' expectations. He achieves sophrosyne (σωφροσύνη) by learning to moderate his ambitions and find the mesotes (μεσότης) between self-destruction and manic overachievement.

How Aristotle Would Summarize "50 First Dates"

Aristotelian Summary (5 sentences)

Henry begins practicing techne (τέχνη) without arete (ἀρετή) - using his charm as mere craft for shallow conquests rather than genuine philia (φιλία). Lucy's condition forces him to confront what constitutes authentic energeia (ἐνέργεια) - whether love is just repeated actions or sustained hexis (ἕξις) of character. His daily courtship becomes a test of kartereia (καρτερία) - patient endurance that reveals his capacity for true agape rather than mere eros. Through praxis (πρᾶξις) - repeatedly choosing to love without memory of reward - he transforms from someone seeking pleasure to someone capable of eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία) through service. He achieves megalopsychia (μεγαλοψυχία) - greatness of soul - by finding meaning in love that transcends personal gain and temporal recognition.

How Aristotle Would Summarize "Notting Hill"

Aristotelian Summary (5 sentences)

William suffers from mikropsychia (μικροψυχία) - smallness of soul that makes him believe he's unworthy of extraordinary love, violating the mesotes (μεσότης) through excessive humility. Anna's fame creates a false hierarchy that contradicts isonomia (ἰσονομία) - the equality necessary for genuine philia (φιλία) between rational beings. Their relationship fluctuates between stasis (στάσις) and kinesis (κίνησις) as William learns andreia (ἀνδρεία) - the courage to claim his worth despite social differences. Through peripeteia (περιπέτεια) - public humiliation and private reflection - he develops phronesis (φρόνησις) about what constitutes true value in relationships. He achieves eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία) by recognizing that love transcends external circumstances and choosing praxis (πρᾶξις) - virtuous action regardless of outcome.

How Aristotle Would Summarize "Annie Hall"

Aristotelian Summary (5 sentences)

Alvy suffers from chronic akrasia (ἀκρασία) - knowing what behaviors damage relationships yet compulsively repeating them through neurotic self-sabotage. His episteme (ἐπιστήμη) about love conflicts with his hexis (ἕξις) of anxiety, preventing him from achieving the ataraxia (ἀταραξία) necessary for sustained philia (φιλία). Annie's growth represents kinesis (κίνησις) toward eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία), while Alvy remains trapped in stasis (στάσις) - unable to evolve beyond his neuroses. Through anamnesis (ἀνάμνησις) - flashbacks that reveal patterns - he gains gnosis (γνῶσις) about his destructive habits but lacks the enkrateia (ἐγκράτεια) to change them. He achieves a limited sophia (σοφία) - understanding that love requires letting go - but cannot actualize this wisdom in praxis (πρᾶξις), remaining intellectually aware but emotionally akratic.

How Aristotle Would Summarize "The Holiday"

Aristotelian Summary (5 sentences)

Both Amanda and Iris begin in states of pseudophilia (ψευδοφιλία) - false friendship/love that violates their autarkeia (αὐτάρκεια) through emotional dependency on unworthy partners. Their geographical metabasis (μετάβασις) - literal change of place - creates the conditions for metanoia (μετάνοια), a fundamental transformation of mind and character. Through xenophilia (ξενοφιλία) - love of the foreign/new - they escape their established hexis (ἕξις) patterns and discover their capacity for andreia (ἀνδρεία) in relationships. Each woman's anagnorisis (ἀναγνώρισις) comes through praxis (πρᾶξις) - Amanda learning vulnerability, Iris claiming self-worth - rather than mere intellectual insight. They achieve eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία) by discovering that autarkeia (self-sufficiency) is the foundation for genuine koinonia (κοινωνία) with others.

Greek-English Dictionary of Philosophical Terms