Commentary on Aristotles Politics

Aristotle's Political Theory

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This entry has no external links. Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server Configure custom proxy use this if your affiliation does not provide a proxy. Thomas Aquinas - - Yale University Press. Translation and Introduction by John P.

Aquinas, Saint Thomas Commentary On Aristotle's Politics 2007

Preface by Ralph McInerny. Merely an Interpretation of Aristotle? Books Iii and Iv. Aristotle - - Clarendon Press. Books Vii and Viii. A Translation and Commentary on the Commentary of St. Mary Chrysostom Taylor - unknown. Politics, Books V and Vi. Books I and Ii. Aristotle - - Hackett Publishing Company. Thomas Aquinas's Commentary on the Ethics. The analogy is imprecise because politics, in the strict sense of legislative science, is a form of practical knowledge, while a craft like architecture or medicine is a form of productive knowledge.

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However, the comparison is valid to the extent that the politician produces, operates, maintains a legal system according to universal principles EN VI. In order to appreciate this analogy it is helpful to observe that Aristotle explains the production of an artifact in terms of four causes: For example, clay material cause is molded into a vase shape formal cause by a potter efficient or moving cause so that it can contain liquid final cause.

For discussion of the four causes see the entry on Aristotle's physics. One can also explain the existence of the city-state in terms of the four causes. Hence, it is made up of parts, which Aristotle describes in various ways in different contexts: But, ultimately, the city-state is composed of individual citizens see III.

The formal cause of the city-state is its constitution politeia. The constitution is not a written document, but an immanent organizing principle, analogous to the soul of an organism. Here the citizens are that minority of the resident population who possess full political rights III. The existence of the city-state also requires an efficient cause, namely, its ruler. On Aristotle's view, a community of any sort can possess order only if it has a ruling element or authority.

This ruling principle is defined by the constitution, which sets criteria for political offices, particularly the sovereign office III. However, on a deeper level, there must be an efficient cause to explain why a city-state acquires its constitution in the first place. Soon after, he states that the city-state comes into being for the sake of life but exists for the sake of the good life 2.

The theme that the good life or happiness is the proper end of the city-state recurs throughout the Politics III. To sum up, the city-state is a hylomorphic i. The constitution itself is fashioned by the lawgiver and is governed by politicians, who are like craftsmen efficient cause , and the constitution defines the aim of the city-state final cause, IV.

Aristotle's hylomorphic analysis has important practical implications for him: Aristotle accordingly rejects utopian schemes such as the proposal in Plato's Republic that children and property should belong to all the citizens in common. For this runs afoul of the fact that "people give most attention to their own property, less to what is communal, or only as much as falls to them to give attention" Pol.

Aristotle is also wary of casual political innovation, because it can have the deleterious side-effect of undermining the citizens' habit of obeying the law II. For a further discussion of the theoretical foundations of Aristotle's politics, see the following supplementary document:. It is in these terms, then, that Aristotle understands the fundamental normative problem of politics: What constitutional form should the lawgiver establish and preserve in what material for the sake of what end? His general theory of constitutions is set forth in Politics III.

Citizens are distinguished from other inhabitants, such as resident aliens and slaves; and even children and seniors are not unqualified citizens nor are most ordinary workers. After further analysis he defines the citizen as a person who has the right exousia to participate in deliberative or judicial office b18— In Athens, for example, citizens had the right to attend the assembly, the council, and other bodies, or to sit on juries.

The Athenian system differed from a modern representative democracy in that the citizens were more directly involved in governing. Although full citizenship tended to be restricted in the Greek city-states with women, slaves, foreigners, and some others excluded , the citizens were more deeply enfranchised than in modern representative democracies because they were more directly involved in governing.

This is reflected in Aristotle's definition of the citizen without qualification. Further, he defines the city-state in the unqualified sense as a multitude of such citizens which is adequate for a self-sufficient life b Aristotle defines the constitution politeia as a way of organizing the offices of the city-state, particularly the sovereign office III. The constitution thus defines the governing body, which takes different forms: Before attempting to distinguish and evaluate various constitutions Aristotle considers two questions. First, why does a city-state come into being?

He recalls the thesis, defended in Politics I. Second, what are the different forms of rule by which one individual or group can rule over another? Aristotle distinguishes several types of rule, based on the nature of the soul of the ruler and of the subject. He first considers despotic rule, which is exemplified in the master-slave relationship.

Aristotle thinks that this form of rule is justified in the case of natural slaves who he asserts without evidence lack a deliberative faculty and thus need a natural master to direct them I. Although a natural slave allegedly benefits from having a master, despotic rule is still primarily for the sake of the master and only incidentally for the slave III.

Aristotle provides no argument for this: He next considers paternal and marital rule, which he also views as defensible: Aristotle's arguments about slaves and women appear so weak that some commentators take them to be ironic. However, what is obvious to a modern reader need not have been so to an ancient Greek, so that it is not necessary to suppose that Aristotle's discussion is ironic. It is noteworthy, however, that paternal and marital rule are properly practiced for the sake of the ruled for the sake of the child and of the wife respectively , just as arts like medicine or gymnastics are practiced for the sake of the patient III.

In this respect they resemble political rule, which is the form of rule appropriate when the ruler and the subject have equal and similar rational cacapacities. This is exemplified by naturally equal citizens who take turns at ruling for one another's advantage a8— This sets the stage for the fundamental claim of Aristotle's constitutional theory: The distinction between correct and deviant constitutions is combined with the observation that the government may consist of one person, a few, or a multitude.

Hence, there are six possible constitutional forms Politics III. This six-fold classification which is adapted from Plato's Statesman c-d sets the stage for Aristotle's inquiry into the best constitution, although it is modified in various ways throughout the Politics. For example, he observes that the dominant class in oligarchy literally rule of the oligoi , i. Aristotle's constitutional theory is based on his theory of justice, which is expounded in Nicomachean Ethics book V.

The conception of universal justice undergirds the distinction between correct just and deviant unjust constitutions. Some passages imply that justice involves the advantage of all the citizens; for example, every citizen of the best constitution has a just claim to private property and to an education Pol. Whether Aristotle understands the common advantage as safeguarding the interests of each and every citizen has a bearing on whether he anticipates what moderns would understand as a theory of individual rights.

See Fred Miller and Richard Kraut for differing interpretations. Aristotle analyzes arguments for and against the different constitutions as different applications of the principle of distributive justice III. Everyone agrees, he says, that justice involves treating equal persons equally, and treating unequal persons unequally, but they do not agree on the standard by which individuals are deemed to be equally or unequally meritorious or deserving.

He assumes his own analysis of distributive justice set forth in Nicomachean Ethics V. Justice requires that benefits be distributed to individuals in proportion to their merit or desert. The oligarchs mistakenly think that those who are superior in wealth should also have superior political rights, whereas the democrats hold that those who are equal in free birth should also have equal political rights. Both of these conceptions of political justice are mistaken in Aristotle's view, because they assume a false conception of the ultimate end of the city-state.

The city-state is neither a business enterprise to maximize wealth as the oligarchs suppose nor an association to promote liberty and equality as the democrats maintain. Hence, the correct conception of justice is aristocratic, assigning political rights to those who make a full contribution to the political community, that is, to those with virtue as well as property and freedom a4—8. Aristotle explores the implications of this argument in the remainder of Politics III, considering the rival claims of the rule of law and the rule of a supremely virtuous individual.

Here absolute kingship is a limiting case of aristocracy. Like any complete science or craft, it must study a range of issues concerning its subject matter. For example, gymnastics physical education studies what sort of training is best or adapted to the body that is naturally the best, what sort of training is best for most bodies, and what capacity is appropriate for someone who does not want the condition or knowledge appropriate for athletic contests. Political science studies a comparable range of constitutions b21— Although his own political views were influenced by his teacher Plato, Aristotle is highly critical of the ideal constitution set forth in Plato's Republic on the grounds that it overvalues political unity, it embraces a system of communism that is impractical and inimical to human nature, and it neglects the happiness of the individual citizens Politics II.

Moreover, there will be a common system of education for all the citizens, because they share the same end Pol. If as is the case with most existing city-states the population lacks the capacities and resources for complete happiness, however, the lawgiver must be content with fashioning a suitable constitution Politics IV. The second-best system typically takes the form of a polity in which citizens possess an inferior, more common grade of virtue or mixed constitution combining features of democracy, oligarchy, and, where possible, aristocracy, so that no group of citizens is in a position to abuse its rights.

Aristotle argues that for city-states that fall short of the ideal, the best constitution is one controlled by a numerous middle class which stands between the rich and the poor. They are accordingly less apt than the rich or poor to act unjustly toward their fellow citizens. A constitution based on the middle class is the mean between the extremes of oligarchy rule by the rich and democracy rule by the poor.

The middle constitution is therefore both more stable and more just than oligarchy and democracy. Although Aristotle classifies democracy as a deviant constitution albeit the best of a bad lot , he argues that a case might be made for popular rule in Politics III. The central claim is that the many may turn out to be better than the virtuous few when they come together, even though the many may be inferior when considered individually. For if each individual has a portion of virtue and practical wisdom, they may pool these assets and turn out to be better rulers than even a very wise individual.

In addition, the political scientist must attend to existing constitutions even when they are bad. The political scientist should also be cognizant of forces of political change which can undermine an existing regime.

Commentary on Aristotle's Politics - Saint Thomas (Aquinas), Richard J. Regan - Google Книги

Aristotle criticizes his predecessors for excessive utopianism and neglect of the practical duties of a political theorist. However, he is no Machiavellian.

The best constitution still serves as a regulative ideal by which to evaluate existing systems. These topics occupy the remainder of the Politics. Books IV—VI are concerned with the existing constitutions: The mixed constitution has been of special interest to scholars because it looks like a forerunner of modern republican regimes. Aristotle has continued to influence thinkers up to the present throughout the political spectrum, including conservatives such as Hannah Arendt, Leo Strauss, and Eric Voegelin , communitarians such as Alasdair MacIntyre and Michael Sandel , liberals such as William Galston and Martha C.

Nussbaum , libertarians such as Tibor R. Rasmussen, and Douglas J. It is not surprising that such diverse political persuasions can lay claim to Aristotle as a source. For his method often leads to divergent interpretations. When he deals with a difficult problem, he is inclined to consider opposing arguments in a careful and nuanced manner, and he is often willing to concede that there is truth on each side.

Modern commentators sympathetic with Aristotle's general approach often contend that in this case he applies his own principles incorrectly—leaving open the question of how they should be applied. Further, the way he applies his principles may have seemed reasonable in his socio-political context—for example, that the citizen of a polity normally the best attainable constitution must be a hoplite soldier cf. The problem of extrapolating to modern political affairs can be illustrated more fully in connection with Aristotle's discussion of legal change in Politics II.

A Commentary on Aristotle's Politics

He first lays out the argument for making the laws changeable. It has been beneficial in the case of medicine, for example, for it to progress from traditional ways to improved forms of treatment. An existing law may be a vestige of a primitive barbaric practice.

For instance, Aristotle mentions a law in Cyme that allows an accuser to produce a number of his own relatives as witnesses to prove that a defendant is guilty of murder.

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Since the law gets its force from the citizens' habit of obedience, great care should be exercised in making any change in it. It may sometimes be better to leave defective laws in place rather than encouraging lawlessness by changing the laws too frequently. Moreover, there are the problems of how the laws are to be changed and who is to change them.

Although Aristotle offers valuable insights, he breaks off the discussion of this topic and never takes it up elsewhere. We might sum up his view as follows: When it comes to changing the laws, observe the mean: For example, should the laws be changed to allow self-described transsexual persons to use sexually segregated restrooms?

Conservatives and liberals might agree with Aristotle's general stricture regarding legal change but differ widely on how to apply it in a particular case. Most scholars of Aristotle make no attempt to show that he is aligned with any contemporary ideology. Rather, insofar as they find him relevant to our times, it is because he offers a remarkable synthesis of idealism and realpolitik unfolding in deep and thought-provoking discussions of perennial concerns of political philosophy: Passages in Aristotle are cited as follows: Politics is abbreviated as Pol.

Most translations include the Bekker page number with column letter in the margin followed by every fifth line number. Political Science in General Supplement: Characteristics and Problems of Aristotle's Politics 2. Aristotle's View of Politics Supplement:

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