Aristotle
Aristotle Politics
Why do human beings live together. They are political animals. if we a to flourish we have to actualize our capabilities We are naturally inclined to live in Nature and culture are different. nati is best served if we live according to nature not cultural laws. Ar says this is a false dichotomy we live in a natural state in a polis disagreeing with the sophists Theybsgould live in city states of max. 100 000 people's For Ar it is important as to who should make decisions. He thinks it's citizens. he becomes a metic because he wasn't born in Athens as you cannot change your citizenship. he was a Macedonian. Ar was a tutor to Alexander the Great
he starts a lyceum. he researches Sparta. Which was a kind of ideal city. Of 158. He also researches Cartage Sparta - women had too much license. he sees the pairing of wife and husband is a political role. Woman should learn about citizenship as they will be creating citizens. They are different from children or slaves so it was a different kind of rule over women. Their reason is not dominant...too emotional to practice reason. he finds a definition of citizenship that covers oligarchy and democracy Slaves. he sees natural slaves. No deliberative powers and are naturally born to serve. They cannot find happiness because they cant reason. If he can flourish it is because he has been directed by the master.
So must be male, free
The monarchy, aristocracy and polity. They are virtuous because they rule benevolently. They need free time so they can peruse virtue And acquire the education and it implies wealth
But Wealth should be a means to the end ie virtue. It cannot be the thing itself
Democracy gets a bit of the beating. he sees four types of democracy. the worst ie the best is closest to Oligarchy. The last or ultimate is closest toathens. The mass rules stead of the law. Which is a bit unfair because they were concerned with constitutions. Not adhominem
He sees democracy as the one of the corrupt constitutions. Because it is class based governing on behalf of the poor people. Theretically the majority could be rich but it wouldbt be democracy. The essential essence of oligarchy is wealth and the Essential essence of democracy is poverty.
So Virtue is the life to be sought for which can be best reached through an structure because of the wealth, free time, education etc. It is faculty of reason which separates us from natural slaves and animals.
Plato and Aristotle method. Access of the knowledge of what is good. he must climb out of the cave abd craft the city in the light of the knowledge gained. We find what is good by collectively sealing the ideal together while Plato sees it as something where you should climb out and view from above. Aristotle is pragmatic saying you cannot climb out you must be able to collectively seak the virtue Poor rich tyrant tyranny, democracy oligarchy al part of the corrupt constitutions because they also it must be in the interest of the ruled not the ruler. The only common interest is virtue and that would be in the interest of the ruled. Plato says the polis must be unity. Aristotle says it must be diversity in community and accommodate plurality. Unity will destroy polis
the citizenship the ideal pragmatic polity is bit of aristocracy, a bit of democracy and a bit of monarchy a bit like h is Golden Mean
if a extremely virtuous group of one of the groups then they could rule
Bring in the middle class not too rich or poor. State controlled education. Middle class will be less prone to faction. Was he toadying up to Alexander. He was emasculating the city state so was it an implicit criticism
How was his ideas received. His Lyceum thrived. A few centuries later Aristotle writings disappeared until the 8th century in to Arabic and then later by Thomas Acquinas into latin as he linked it to Christianity. Man goverened by natural law the summas
Aristotle gives advice to the tyrant hoping it will push him towards a more virtuous course although Machivelli sees it as a way of maintaining tyranny
Is Aristotle likely to be taken up by authoritarian regimes. . he says that it should be public community virtue. His criticism of extreme democracy is that private virtue allows you to do what you like.
