This talk will examine Aristotle's guarded remark about divine care in EN 10.8: ‘for if some care of human things by gods takes place, as is thought…’ (εἰ γάρ τις ἐπιμέλεια τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ὑπὸ θεῶν γίνεται, ὥσπερ δοκεῖ…). I consider Aristotle’s remark within its immediate and broader context in the treatise. I reject the standard view, according to which Aristotle maintains that the statement in the protasis is false. I also reject the minority view, according to which Aristotle maintains that the statement is true. Instead, I argue that Aristotle presents us with this idea - that gods give care to human things - as a genuine theological possibility. This interpretation has implications for how we understand the status and role of Aristotle’s theological reflections in EN 10. It also affects the degree to which we should expect him to have a fully worked-out theological doctrine. Finally, the talk considers how the Aristotle who emerges from this analysis relates to broader patterns in Greek religious thought
