The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle’s Politics
One of the most influential works in the history of political theory, Aristotle's 'Politics' is a treatise in practical philosophy, intended to inform legislators and to create the conditions for virtuous and self-sufficient lives for the citizens of a state. In this 'Companion', distinguished scholars offer new perspectives on the work and its themes. After an opening exploration of the relation between Aristotle's ethics and his politics, the central chapters follow the sequence of the eight books of the 'Politics', taking up questions such as the role of reason in legitimizing rule, the common good, justice, slavery, private property, citizenship, democracy and deliberation, unity, conflict, law and authority, and education. The closing chapters discuss the interaction between Aristotle's political thought and contemporary democratic theory. The volume will provide a valuable resource for those studying ancient philosophy, classics, and the history of political thought.
The good man and the good citizen in Aristotle's "Politics"
The distinction between the good man and the good citizen is of some importance for the understanding of Aristotle's political theory. This distinction, however, does not seem to have been fully understood. This paper will attempt to throw a little light upon the subject, essentially by means of an examination of the words used in the text. Aristotle begins, in chapter 4 of Book 3,1 discussing the excellence of the citizen. Just as each man in a ship's company has his own excellence (ope-r a term to be discussed later) which is peculiar to him, while each contributes to the same end the safe passage of the sea -, so citizens,
Right by Nature
There is a real order of human goodness. It is adequately symbolized by Aristotle's concept "right by nature." Its truths are simultaneously absolute and variable, so it lies paradoxically between deontology and relativism. My essay inquires what right by nature is, how there could be universal absolutes that are mutable, and how these things can be known. The first two questions require ontological answers; the symbol right by nature reflects experience of a transcendent ground of being. In principle, this experience is accessible to all, through noetic practical wisdom or common sense, but all do not grasp or heed it, and we need to recover it. To this end, polities must design and supervise an education that habituates citizens in the virtues.