Aristotle Flashcards
who is aristotle
- 384-322 BC
- Born at Stagira
- Student of Plato and teacher to Alexander the Great (342-334)
- Established the Lyceum until 322 BC
- Fled as he was accused of impiety
what is the political association in the nature and the origin of the
state
Firstly, a union between those who cannot exist without the other must occur
* There must also be a union of naturally ruling element v. naturally ruled
* First result of the two elementary association is family, next is village, and the final is polis
* Polis – should exist for the good life
* “All associations aim at some good; and the particular association, which is the most sovereign of all, and includes all the rest, will pursue this aim most, and will thus be directed to the most sovereign of all goods. This most sovereign and inclusive association is the polis, as it is called, or the political association”
what does it mean if the state is natural in the nature and the origin of the
state
- Man, by nature, is a political and social animal
- If man is not a part of polis – either he is a poor sort of being or a god
- Man is meant for political association – language
- Man is also predisposed to the faculty of the mind that separates man from animals
- Polis is prior to the order of nature, as the whole is prior to the part
what is slavery accd to aristotle
Property as part of the household, and its acquisition is part of household
management
* Art needs to be equipped with necessary instruments to discharge its functions
* Instruments – partly animate, partly inanimate
* Property is an instrument for the purpose of life; and the sum of all instruments
* Servants are considered animate instruments to inanimate parts
* Natural – ruling and being ruled – applied at birth
* Tame v wild animals
* Man v woman
* “just as some are by nature free, so others are by nature slaves, and for these latter the condition of slavery is both beneficial and just”
* Slavery by convention or law
* Victors v losers
* Not all slaves have natural disposition to slavery
* Wrong exercise by rule of master is injurious to both as the slave is part of the master’s body
what is the paternal rule accd to aristotle
- Head of household rules over the wife and children
- Rule over wife (statesman)
- Rule over children (monarch)
- Men has predisposition to leadership, except if there is departure from nature
- There is also a need to consider age and maturity
- Elements of the soul
- Ruling and ruled
- They share in the moral goodness based on functions
what is citizenship accd to aristotle
- State as a compound made of citizens
- No general agreement as it is dependent on the constitution
- Citizen as “man who shares in the administration of justice and in the holding of office”
- Citizens are also dependent on the parents of both sides
difference between good citizen vs good man accd to aristotle
- It is possible to be a good citizen without being excellent as a man
- Citizen, while differ in capacity, their goal is to serve in the polis based on their constitution
- A good man, on the other hand, has virtues of being excellent
- The best state for Aristotle
- Excellence must be shared to all
- Impossible to be a good man unless “we hold all citizen to be good men”
- Good man needs knowledge from both ruling and ruled
what is a constitution accd to aristotle
- “organization of a polis, in respect to its offices generally, but especially in respect of that
particular office which is sovereign in all issues.” - “An organization of offices in a state, by which the method of their distribution is fixed, the sovereign authority is determined, and the nature of the end to be pursued by the association and all its members is prescribed.”
- Due to the social nature of man, they are drawn by common interests to attain the good life
- Constitutions differ based on purpose, as well as the number of leaders
what are the types of constitutions
right consti: monarchy, aristocracy, polity
wrong consti: tyranny, oligarchy, democracy
what is justice in the state accd to aristotle
- Wrong constitutions have an idea of justice, but it is not true justice
- Polis must consider to be promoting goodness
- Polis, an association of different households and clans in a good life, for the sake of attaining perfect and self-sufficing existence
- Friendship as basis of pursuit of common social life, and should be the means towards the end
- Polis as the end – the good life – life of true felicity and goodness
- Justice – “Those who contribute most to an association of this character have a greater share in the polis, than those who are equal to them in free birth and descent, but unequal in civic excellence, or then those who surpass them in wealth but are surpassed by them in excellence.”
who should be sovereign accd to aristotle
- Several alternatives: people at large, wealthy, better men , best of all, tyrant
- Issues on who should be the sovereign
- First issue – better for many people to exercise judgment than experts as they might be better if aggregated
- Second issue – collective property is greater than individual, i.e. judiciary than justices
- To resolve this, there is a need for constituted laws to be the final sovereign and leaders to act on those things that are not able to be tackled by laws
what is justice accd to aristotle
- Two factors: Things & Persons to whom things are assigned
- What is to be done if there is a man of outstanding eminence in goodness: Exile and banishment/Permanent kings
what is kingship and the rule of law accd to aristotle
- Best man as law-giver and there should be body of laws
- There are matters where law cannot decide
- Laws can help train officers to settle issues not regulated by laws
- Leaders can also introduce improvements to laws
- Law as “reason free from all passion”
- “to seek for justice is to seek for a neutral authority, and law is a neutral authority.”
what is the nature of politics accd to aristotle
- study of politics
- Consider which is the best constitution closest to the ideal
- What sort of constitution suits a particular civic body
- How it may arise and how it may lead to the longest possible life
- Politics has to provide different knowledge on the types of constitutions which is best suited to states in general
- A true statesman must be able to help any existing constitution
- Students of politics must also be able to distinguish best laws from appropriate constitutions.
what is the most practicable type of constitution accd to aristotle
Those who are at the extremes would find it difficult to listen to reason
* State based on the middle class is bound to be the best constituted based on the elements that comprises the state
* Best from of society is one where power is vested in the middle class
* Good government can be attained in states where there is a large middle class – large enough to be stronger than the two classes
* The middle type constitution is best
* Free from faction
* Large middle class
* Least likelihood of dissension
