Is There Divine Providence According To Aristotle?

At the end of the nineteenth century, Franz Brentano made use of passages such as Nicomachean Ethics (EN) 10.8. 1179a22–32 and Politics (Pol.) 7.4.1326a31–32 in order to strengthen his interpretation of passages from more centrally theological works, according to which Aristotle held that God has effective providence over the world and things human. However, the success of alternative readings of the theological and semi–theological works of Aristotle by scholars such as Eduard Zeller apparently settled the matter for a century: the scientific theology of Aristotle, as understood by most interpreters, had no place for God’s providence and care for human affairs. Any passage in which Aristotle appears to endorse the doctrine of divine providence should rather be interpreted as a concession to popular religion.