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Topic 3 - Aristotle

This document provides an overview of Aristotle and his political philosophy. Some key points: - Aristotle studied under Plato and was concerned with why the Greek city-state declined as a form of government. - His method involved studying many actual city-states to determine the "telos" or highest purpose of political communities. - He viewed humans as rational and political animals who require community to achieve happiness. The ideal political community for humans is the polis or city-state. - Aristotle analyzed different forms of government and constitutions, preferring a "polity" that mixes rule by the one, few and many to best serve the public interest over private interests.

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ARISTOTLE 384-322 B.C
Mind Map
Mind Map
Introduction • His method • Human nature • Political economy • Community • Political forms of the polis • Political change
Introduction • Student of Plato at the Academy • Politics • A strong admirer of the Athenian polis • His main concern, “why has the Greek polis, specifically the Athenian city-state, declined as a viable form of government, and what should be done about it?”
Introduction • Politics – Reject the imperial model of Alexander’s Macedonian – Disagreements with Plato’s Republic • Philosopher King • Communism for Guardian Class – Commonality of family » Love – Property » Modest amount is natural
Aristotle’s method • The concept of “real” – Plato: eternal forms found in heaven – Aristotle: cannot be located outside of the object itself. • Focus on the highest end or goal of the object (telos) • It is natural for man to shape objects to fulfill basic (natural) human needs
HIS METHOD • Telos : – Also include thing; chair or a polis. – So the end of the polis can be known after the study of many actual city-states – the essential nature of things lay not at their cause (or beginning) but at their end (telos). – Once we know the telos we can judge whether the object; three, chair, man or polis is good or bad
HUMAN NATURE • The soul rules the body with the sort of authority of master. • Mind rules the appetite with the sort of authority of a statesman or monarch • The body should be ruled by the soul • Soul should be ruled by the mind
Human Nature • Basis of judging polis’s telos is human happiness or the good life. – Activity of the soul; knowledge…search for wisdom- bring to self- realization – Not the body; physical pleasure
HUMAN NATURE • Concept of happiness: – Distinction between rational and irrational – Rational: based on the use of the mind; Man , by nature, is rational; his goal is to exercise his reason to the fullest; so he can be happy – By virtue of reason also man is a political animal
Human Nature • - men are able to establish a polis based on reason, and they cannot live just lives apart from the polis. • Men as rational – They are collectively interdependent – They can never pursue private interest in public arena; they become irrational; harm the community; become either beast or god…not human.
HUMAN NATURE • Emotions – Expresses appetites or desire – Has place in polis if being controlled by reason – Reason needed to be controlled by the golden mean
Human Nature • Golden Mean: – The best available guide to right conduct – All things has a good and bad use. – Ex. Body: excess may consist of too much or too little exercise, food, drink or sleep – Good is the golden mean between the extreme of excess and deficiency – Good polis must determine the proper mean to be regulated and translated into laws – Good laws: present good example; • Implant good habit in people
Human nature
POLITICAL ECONOMY • Explain the relationship between economic and politics • Doctrine of golden mean. • Economics is an instrumental, a tool…. • It can be a means to the rational end of the polis…i.e..happiness
POLITICAL ECONOMY • Rational politics: wealth can help the polis – If unbalanced, excess it can corrupt the polis – Phases of economy: • (1)Good economic: – Directed toward the use of a product: farming, fishing – Natural activity; not an end in itself
POLITICAL ECONOMY • (2)Trade and specialization: – As result of progress of society. – People produce products for goods by others: barter system – Exchange is good • (3)Introduction of money to the economy – Money simplify the barter – Money is harmful and unnatural to polis if profit become the motives
POLITICAL ECONOMY • If money is invested to make more money….ex. payment of interest – The focus of the use of value (purpose of production) is lost – Profit motive introduce injustice, unlimited desire for wealth – Thus the natural relationship between economics and politics- the golden mean- is destroyed • Thus, material goods are necessary • But not allowed the material means to the higher end become the end • Because the happiness of the soul is vastly superior to wealth
COMMUNITY • Good life • Natural impulse • Reason for men desire to live a social life • Common interest • Justice only in the actual community • Justice is not in the earthly representative of a heavenly form
COMMUNITY • All human must be part of community • Purpose of community is to preserve human life • Ultimate goal is the happiness of the members • Thus community must follow the golden mean: avoiding extremes and provide necessary conditions for good life
COMMUNITY • Happiness: basic material needs, friendship, political stability. • Three kind of society: – Household, wife, woman and slave – Village – Polis
COMMUNITY • (1)Household: – Originated from natural relationship – Economically based on production for the use by family members. – The end is family life including interdependence between husband and wife – Husband and wife are not equal: reason: men are more dominant: Why? He is father, husband and master • Father :rule his children • Husband: rule wife constitutionally and not despotically • Master: to slave
COMMUNITY • Slave: types: – a. conventional • Have reason and qualifies for citizenship • Defeated of their army in warfare – b. natural • Lacks reason and must be ruled permanently • Unable to manage their own affairs • Only better off if they obey their master • Allow the master the leisure time necessary for citizenship
COMMUNITY • (2). Village – A social community – A union of households – Ends: a. greater degree of protection. b. economic self- sufficiency; production for exchange. C. greater friendship; for social harmony. The highest sort is based on equality.
COMMUNITY • Polis: – The supreme form of community with the highest purpose. – It involve entire population – Enable participation to reach the highest degree of happiness and virtue – Most natural; overcome the limitations of family
COMMUNITY • Polis: – However it cannot replace the two lesser forms of community. They have natural functions. – Ends: Good life; economic, social harmony and political happiness – Money: for exchange; an autarky
COMMUNITY • Polis: – An autarky: a self- sufficient economic unit ; no imports or export – Everything can be made in the polis – Based on specialized division of labour – Autarky and Economics of Specialization help promote development of an ethical, well-rounded self of the member
COMMUNITY • Polis : – Social: highest form of friendship: political friendship – They recognize their mutual interdependence – Common desire to harmonize individual views and serve a higher telos.
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • Permanent Rulers , even with great virtue and wisdom still a human: subject to emotional and appetitive passions, thus corruptible. • Giving role to all free men – help to stabilize the government – Rely on collective wisdom
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • Collective Capacity • Wealth and property – Inevitable – Class division; rich and poor; create instability – Mix of citizen talents can produce a blend of class interests • Political equality: – Based on class contribution; talents; not wealth
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • The rule of law – Must be rightly constituted, the final sovereign – Better than potentially arbitrary supremacy of the rulers. • Constitution as a form of government – It prescribes the arrangement of offices, distribution of functions and the determination of the sovereign are based on the telos of the polis
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • Book IV: Actual Constitution and their varieties based on 158 constitutions of Greek city-states; – Based on the nature of the inhabitants – Forms of government
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • His classification of government: – Who rules? • True or perverted – Public interest and laws are supreme
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • Power to rule: – One: ultimate decision in a person – Few: authority through a council – Many: legislate through an assembly
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • True constitution: – Telos is just, in public interest of all, a number of classes are represented, law is supreme. • Perverted: – dominated by the private interest, will of rulers dominate the rule of law
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • Monarchy – One virtuous person rules, guided by a law that calls for rotation in office and directs decision making to the public interest • Tyranny: – Arbitrary rule of a permanent despot who is above the law – Rule to suit his own personal interest – Worst form of government – The only possible form for large state of his time
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • Aristocracy: – Ruled by the best few who combine personal merit and wealth with the rule in the public interest • Oligarchy: – Ruled by few and wealthy but promote the interest of their own class
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • Democracy: – A perverted constitution – Serves the lawless greed of the many poor of free birth who constitute a majority. – A mob rule ( mobocracy) – Least bad of the perverted constitution • Polity – The best possible form of true constitution – A true forms for a virtuous people to have – Reflects the reason and moderation – It mixes quality and quantity and merit and wealth with numbers
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS
POLITICAL FORM OF THE POLIS • Polity – A stable polity requires the presence of a large middle class – Combining the poorer segment of the wealthy class with the richer segment of the lower class • Aristotle politics: as a demanding task involving rotation in political office for virtually all citizens at some time • His stable government is based on good law and law-abiding citizen that reinforce stability: not majority support but no important faction or class favour violent change.
POLITICAL CHANGE • Why states decline? or not able to reach their highest potential? – Corrupting factors: • Ignorance • Passion • Absent of sufficient virtue among the populace – Mere alliance: members live at a distance from each other – Where law is mere covenant. • Suggestion: – Citizens must understand the sources of the political weaknesses – Must devote itself to the end of encouraging goodness
POLITICAL CHANGE • Why decline? – Conflict over justice; How? • Extremes of wealth – Loss of mean – Citizens are excessively concerned with personal well-being rather than the polis – Law only guarantee rights…not setting forth mutual obligations. – Division of polis into economic class – Violence and revolution
POLITICAL CHANGE • Why decline? – The decay of spirit of constitution. Why? • Citizens do not act with the spirit of public interest • Less respect to the spirit of law • Government officials personally profit from the office
POLITICAL CHANGE • Why decline? – Education must support a sound constitutional structure and virtuous behaviour • Must teach moderation and willingness to sacrifice for the common good • Must prepare men for citizenship • Must be lifelong
POLITICAL CHANGE
POLITICAL CHANGE • His advise to corrupt regimes: to slow the decline – Divide and conquer the people – Create a strong spy system alert to opposition – Neutralize those who threaten their power – Encourage class hatred, even warfare btew rich and poor – Keep subjects strangers to one another – Association promoting friendship or community interests must be suppressed – Tyrant must appear as monarch in public – Should not flaunt his wealth by lavish personal sending – Must erect great public works for citizens to admire – provide continuing employment for the poor – Appear formally religious by openly worshipping the gods, observe rites and practices
CONCLUSION • His emphasis on superior role of collective participation rather than individual in politics. • Emphasis on organic community where politics pervade all individual and social activity. • Happiness, justice and true freedom only throu.gh participation in the good polis • Change in polis in inevitable. Must preserve the stability. Delay the change.
Conclusion • He recognizes that by nature some individuals are superior. • He separate the task of philosophy from that of governing and advocates rule of law over the edicts of an all-wise ruler • Aristotle does not replace Plato’s contribution. Plato serves Aristotle as a base, a source of ideas that he modifies to present a different perspectives. Both then influenced later successor philosopher.
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