Aristotle context

Question 1

key aspects shaped thinking

Answer 1

greek polis
athens in decline
plato and the academy
sophistic and rhetorical traditions
empirical inquiry and lyceum
rise of macedon
vreek ethical thought

Question 2

greek polis

Answer 2

ristotle lived in a world dominated by the polis—independent city-states like Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes.
Impact: His Politics reflects deep engagement with the structure, function, and purposes of the polis. He saw the polis not merely as a political unit, but as the natural culmination of human association aimed at the good life (eudaimonia).

Question 3

athens in decline

Answer 3

Aristotle was born just after the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE), which saw Athens lose hegemony to Sparta. He later witnessed the rise of Macedon.

Question 4

impact of athens in decline

Answer 4

The fragility and instability of democratic Athens likely influenced his scepticism of radical democracy and preference for mixed constitutions and rule by the virtuous.
Example: His critique of Athenian democracy as too egalitarian reflects this historical experience.

Question 5

plato and academy

Answer 5

ristotle studied under Plato for 20 years. While deeply shaped by his teacher, dopted Plato’s interest in the nature of justice, the ideal state, and the moral purpose of politics.
Inherited the method of defining concepts and asking normative questions (What is the good? What is justice?).

Question 6

contrast plato and aristotle

Answer 6

Plato’s Republic envisions an ideal polis ruled by philosopher-kings; Aristotle’s Politics studies real constitutions and argues that political systems must suit the specific ethos and material conditions of a state.
Plato’s Theory of Forms (the belief in eternal, ideal truths existing beyond the material world).
Critiqued the utopianism of Plato’s Republic—especially the abolition of private property and family.

Question 7

sophist and rhetorical tradition

Answer 7

sophists
iscorates
aristotles resopnse

Question 8

sophists

Answer 8

ike Protagoras and Gorgias taught relativism and rhetoric, often undermining traditional morality and political authority.

Question 9

isocraties

Answer 9

a major contemporary, promoted political education through rhetoric.

Question 10

aristotles response to sophistic and rhetorical trad

Answer 10

He systematised rhetoric (Rhetoric) and logic (Organon) to re-ground political debate in reasoned argument, not mere persuasion.
Key theme: Tension between logos (reason) and pathos (emotion) in political discourse.

Question 11

empirical inquiry

Answer 11

Aristotle founded the Lyceum, where he and his students collected and studied 158 different constitutions.
Method: Comparative politics. He examined how different regimes functioned in practice, marking the beginning of political science as empirical discipline.

Question 12

rise of macedon

Answer 12

Aristotle was born in Macedon and later tutored Alexander the Great.
Political context: The dominance of Macedon under Philip II and Alexander posed a challenge to the polis-based model of Greek political life.

Question 13

impact rise of macedon

Answer 13

While Politics defends the polis as the natural community, the looming reality of imperial monarchy may explain why Aristotle explores the limits and viability of kingship, tyranny, and law-based rule.

Question 14

greek ethical thougt

Answer 14

ristotle’s politics are inseparable from his ethics (Nicomachean Ethics). The purpose of politics is to cultivate virtuous citizens and enable the good life.
Key ideas:
The good life (eudaimonia) is the telos of the city.
Politics is an ethical activity—governance must promote virtue, not just order or power.

Question 15

socrates

Answer 15

470-399bcemoral foundation of political thought
ndirect influence (via Plato and Xenophon).
Emphasised ethical self-knowledge, the examined life, and the primacy of virtue in both private and public life.

Question 16

socrates legacy in aristotle

Answer 16

The idea that politics is a branch of ethics—the state exists to cultivate virtue.
The focus on human flourishing (eudaimonia) as the goal of both ethics and politics.

Question 17

herodotus

Answer 17

484-425bce
historical inqury and cultural relativism

Question 18

herotodus influence

Answer 18

Herodotus explored different political systems (e.g., monarchy, oligarchy, democracy) across cultures.
His ethnographic accounts and reflections on political institutions likely contributed to Aristotle’s comparative method.

Question 19

herodotus aritsole repsose

Answer 19

Moves from Herodotus’ narrative style to a systematic, analytical approach—but retains the interest in how custom and geography shape politics (e.g., his analysis of climate and national character in Politics VII).

Question 20

thucydides

Answer 20

460-400bce
realism power and huma nature

Question 21

thucydides influence

Answer 21

Provided a model of critical historiography and empirical political analysis.
His explanation of causes (especially proximate vs. underlying) shaped Aristotle’s theory of causation.

Question 22

thucydides common themes

Answer 22

Political instability, civic strife (stasis), the limits of democracy, and the role of human passions and interests.
Both share an interest in constitutional change and decline.

Question 23

isocrTES

Answer 23

436-338BCE
RHETORIC AND CIVIC EDUCATION

Question 24

isocrates contemp rival

Answer 24

Emphasised education through rhetoric for political leadership.
Promoted a Panhellenic ideal and the moral role of orators in public life.

Question 25

isocrates aritsotle engagement

Answer 25

While critical of rhetoric as mere persuasion, Aristotle systematised it in the Rhetoric and integrated it with ethics and logic. Both cared deeply about civic virtue and education, but Aristotle placed more emphasis on philosophy and reasoning over stylistic eloquence.