Aristotle and the Politics

Aristotle's life and work the politics

1. Aristotle
c. 384-322 BCE

2. ARISTOTLE
•c. 384 BCE
Stagira, Chalcidice, Greece
•c. 322 BCE
Chalcis, Euboea, Greece
•His father is Nicomachus
Physician of Amyntas III (king of
Macedonia, and grandfather of Alexander
the Great)

3. •Joined the Academy of Plato, and
remained there for 20 years as
Plato’s pupil and colleague
• Upon Plato’s death, he left for
Assos in Mysia where he joined a
small circle of Platonists (followers
of Plato)
•Settled there under Hermias (ruler
of Atarneus) and married his niece
Phythias, who was killed by the
Persians.

4. •In 342 BCE he made his way to
court of Philip of Macedon. There
he became the tutor of Alexander.
•Around 335 BCE he returned to
Athens and established a
philosophical school of his own,
The Lyceum. “Peripatetics”
•He died due to intestinal problems
and his will was provided for his
children: PYTHIAS and
NICOMACHUS, as well as his
slaves

5. The Lyceum
•In 335 BCE, Aristotle returned to Athens and
established his own school, in competition with
the Academy.
•Morning serious lectures
•Evening public lectures
•Inclusive curriculum
•Classification approach
•Aristotle associated with Alexander
–After Alexander's death in 323, Aristotle fled
to Athens

6. Contributions
•His writings cover many subjects,
including physics, metaphysics,
poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric,
linguistics, politics, government,
ethics, biology, and zoology
•Wrote as many as 200 treatises, of
which only 31 survive. (held by his
student Theophrastus)

7. Contributions
Famous Writings:
Rhetoric, On the soul, On
Philosophy, Alexander, Sophistes,
On Justice, Wealth, On Prayer, and
On Education

8. Aristotle as Empiricist
•First, Aristotle grounds all
knowledge on experience.
–This is unlike Plato for whom
knowledge came only when the
philosopher escaped from the world
of sense perception
–Reality, for Aristotle, was the world
around us, not the objects of the
mind, which could be just fantasy.

9. Aristotle as Biologist
•Students at the Lyceum collected
specimens, dissected, and
classified them.
•Analysis of life forms arose from
examination of many real
examples.
•Similarly every subject was
examined and classified.

10. Father of Zoology
•. He wrote a number of treatises
that revolved around different
aspects of zoology. Some of his
popular treatises such as ‘History
of Animals’, ‘Movement of
Animals’, ‘Progression of Animals’
and others, were based on study of
different land, water and aerial
animals.

11. Syllogisms
•The key component of Aristotelian
logic is the syllogism.
•Typical format:
–Major premise – a general truth, or
observation
–Minor premise – a particular fact, or
specific observation
–Conclusion – an inference implied by
the two premises together

12. Influences history of
Psychology
•Aristotle was the first to write a
book that dealt with the specifics of
psychology – his book De Anima
(in translation read as ‘On the
Soul’) being the first book on
psychology

13. The Politics
•The word politics is derived from
the Latin word ‘polis’ which in
ancient Greece simply represented
any city-state.
•Aristotle defines ‘polis’ or city as a
‘koinonia’ or a political association.
•Conclude “man is by nature a
political animal”

14. The Politics
He describes the role that politics
and the political community must
play in bringing about the virtuous life
in the citizenry.
Total of 8 books
•Purpose of the city
Shared pursuit of virtue

15. The Politics
•Nature and Origin of the state
–Family
–Village
–State
•For Aristotle, the state is a natural
society
•End of state: Happiness, has
reached a stage of self-sufficiency

16. The Politics
• Aristotle also believed that a man
when perfected is the best of
animals, but when separated from
law and justice, he is the worst of
all.
•3 are interconnected

17. The Politics
•Ideal State
In every state, there are 3 classes
–The very rich
–The very poor
–The middle class (mean)

18. The Politics
•Elements of an Ideal State (book 6)
“the best city is happy and acts
nobly”
–Population
–Territory
–Social Structure
•Young men
•Middle aged
•Old/ aged

19. The Politics
•Outline of the State
Considering:
–Health (most important)
–Defense
–Convenience of political activities
–Beauty of a state
“a large and bountiful of reservoir of
rainwater is an added advantage to any
stae”

20. The Politics
•3 relationships of household (book 1)
–Master – Slave (Mastery)
–Husband – Wife (Marital)
–Parent – Child (Parental)
–The art of acquisition

21. The Politics
•Nature of Man and Woman
–Aristotle believed that women were
inferior to men.
–The male is the ruler, and the female
is the subject
–Relationship between the husband
and the wife is a friendship
–Points out the fact that the wife and
children are “both free”

22. The Politics
•Citizenship (book 3)
–the citizen is one who shares in
holding office and making decisions
–there is also a general virtue (a
political partnership both for the sake
of living and for the sake of living
well)
–virtue must be a care for every city
“may own private properties”

23. The Politics
•Citizenship (book 3)
–the citizens should not be merchants,
farmers, slaves and women
–However, Aristotle recognizes that a
city needs farmers, laborers and
artisans if it is to be able to provide
for the necessities of life.

24. The Politics
•Slavery (book 1)
–Those who are defeated in war
–Children of Slaves
–Slaves are not citizens
Note: "Whoever is entitled to participate
in an office involving deliberation or
decision”

25. The Politics
Who should rule? (books 4-6)
The first criterion that is used to
distinguish among different kinds of
regimes is the number of those
ruling: one man, a few men, or the
many

26. The Politics
•6 kinds of regimes (book 3)
One Few Many
For common
interest
Monarchy Aristocracy Polity
For the interest
of the rulers
Tyranny Oligarchy Democracy

27. The Politics
•Middle aged should rule
What is the best possible regime?
(book 7)
POLITY – combination of oligarchy
(wealth) and democracy (freedom)

28. The Politics
•Relations between the Politics and
Religion
–Such a ruler would have to make a
great show of religiosity.

29. The Politics
Music is necessary!

30. The Politics
Justice: Equality