Aristotle
Politics
Aristotle in his book politics, argues that the political association is the highest form of
human association , and making all his conclusions based on the assumption that ‘polis’ is the
best and only sensible political system. He further adds that political association is the most
sovereign and aims at the highest good
Politics is largely an attempt to determine or rather prove that political association is the best
suited way for securing the happiness of its members or as called in ‘politics’ the citizens .The
interest of the polis and its citizens were seen to be the same since both the city and man aimed
for happiness as the ultimate goal. According to Aristotle, life has no existence outside the
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If those certain of rationality exist in
these slaves then they are not “natural slaves” and should not be enslaved .
Aristotle’s belief that a man can become fully human if he engages in the political
association of the city , gives the state full authority over an individuals freedom.
According to his view an individual could not have any true rational needs or interest outside the
confines of the state, as the result it would be absurd to even desire any kind of individual
freedom in opposition to the state. Aristotle does not draw a line, which the state cannot cross
over an individuals privacy or freedom. A central question in modern day philosophy, is the
extent to which a state can impose itself on the freedom of an individual. As a result it would be
absurd to desire any kind of individual freedom in opposition to the state
A little further down in the book Aristotle argues and puts forward his idea that a new
system of government is required as all the proposed theories and existing governments were not
perfect. Before putting his theory on the table, Aristotle reviews and criticizes the existing
theories and government using there flaws and shortcomings as evidence supporting his case. His
second book concentrates on these flaws, discussing them in further details. He attacks all
theorists proposing abolishment of private property for individuals. Aristotle
Martin Diamond and James Madison would agree with David Truman’s take on interest groups in government affairs. Martin Diamond believed that “to be scientific political science should focus on facts and not value” (Presentation: Human Nature, Politics, and Groups). This evidence proves that Martin would support Truman’s take on interest groups, because Martin is implying that as long as the interest groups are so called “balancing” government by their existence, then they should be accepted, despite if they lack values and moral integrity. Martin follows Aristotle’s belief that “man is a political animal” (Presentation: Human Nature, Politics, and Groups). This information provides evidence that if Martin accepts Aristotle’s belief that “man
It caught my attention me when Camus mentioned becoming a slave of our liberty. He prefaced how even though we believe we are living a life of liberty and choices;
Privacy. What do you think the average American would say if you told them they have no Constitutional Right to Privacy, as privacy is never mentioned anywhere in the Constitution? That the information they share over the World Wide Web has little if any protection by or from the government. Of course our government is hard at work to modernize the form of weeding out the unsanitary to which some cenacles might call censorship. But the main question still stands, do we have a right to privacy and is the government violating our natural freedoms, or do we need someone to monitor the actions of our society to keep order. The question is as old as government; to what extent should the government influence our lives. When you
When I think about a political community, I usually associate it with elections, politicians, and advertisements that bad mouth candidates from the different political parties. Politicians try to persuade citizens to vote for them by making promises that they may never fulfill. But a political community is more than that. A comparison of Aristotle and John Locke’s nature and purpose of a political community has given me a new insight. I learned that, even though the political community is responsible to provide security, its main purpose is aimed for the highest good of all its citizens, which is virtue and happiness.
Wolff (1970) defines a state as a group of persons who have the right to exercise supreme authority within a territory, over a population. He proposes In the Defense of Anarchism, men are autonomous, as higher degrees of autonomy is achieved, a man will resist the claim that states have authority over him. This illustrates the puzzle of Political obligation and can be explained through the appeal to consent.
In "The Politics", Aristotle would have us believe that man by nature is a political animal. In other words, Aristotle seems to feel that the most natural thing for men to do is to come together in some form of political association. He then contends that this political association is essential to the pursuit of the good life. Finally he attempts to distinguish what forms of political association are most suitable to the pursuit of this good life. In formulating a critique of "The Politics", we shall first examine his claims as to what is natural to man and whether the criterion of the natural is sufficient to demonstrate virtue. We shall then examine what it is about political association that
Aristotle's view of politics is expressed in his writing, Politics. Rather than focusing on the individual Aristotle is more intent on the regime, and the highest goal, justice. Another main point is that people must live together, thus having a united regime. The family unit was highly respected, for the household is where people originate. Aristotle's political science encompasses the two
In the selections from Politics, Aristotle introduces and develops an idea of political life that varies distinctly from that introduced by the selections from the Bible and Saint Augustine’s The City of God. Aristotle’s focus on political life is more on the functions of government and the individuals who make up said government, while the Bible and Saint Augustine imply that political life has less to do with the actual functions of government and the individuals who make it up, and more to do with faith and love amongst the members of the community. Though there are usually considerable differences between fields of thought in philosophy and religion, Aristotle, Saint Augustine and the Bible share some similarities in their description
This definition can be extended to a definition of politics. Indeed, the idea that “human values” and the “search for orienting theories” (lines 4 and 5) are entangled is clearly expressed. The vision of man that is given suggests that society should promote his innate capacities and put them at the chore of political decisions. “Participation in decision-making” (line19) conjures up the idea of a Participatory Democracy, which was a major theme for elements of the American Left in the 1960’s. This implies a more important influence of the people in the decisions of their society.
By looking at the readings of Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Locke, there are a few distinctions between how the modern thinkers viewed politics versus the way the ancient thinkers believed politics should be. There are many topics both modern and ancient thinkers discuss in their writings, such as the purpose of politics, the science of politics, human nature, as well as the ideal regime. By doing so, these thinkers’ views on political topics such as these illuminate how they thought politics should work and who should be able to participate in the activity of politics.
What Aristotle called ‘Polity’ was based on political power and the best practical government. This notion differed from Ancient Greek democracy.
The relationship between free choice and moral politicians in the eye’s of Kant is such that, in order to have long lasting peace in the world it is required that people with authority to make choices for their states that do not just benefit them as an individual in the short run, but the state as a whole in the long run. Thus the coining of the phrase, moral politicians. This idea of moral politicians is tied closely to that of Kant’s theory of perpetual peace. In this theory there are three parts that must hold: all states have a republican constitution, a federation of states, and cosmopolitan law.
EG Arts. 35-47 state that the state is responsible for elimination of economic and social obstacles that hinder freedom and equality of citizens and holds them from participation in political, economic and social life of the country
While living in a state, the individuals expect and expect rightly that they ought to be given their essential necessities of life by the state and the government. In the advanced idea of state, securing the essential rights of the individuals and giving them the necessities to carry on with a superior life are considered as the fundamental elements of a state. (Sherzai, 2013)
Aristotle believed that the goal of all human life is to achieve ultimate happiness. Happiness is the final Utopia or the end of “a life worth living.” Human instinct is characterized by achieving personal fulfillment, thus leading to happiness. Aristotle warns against going astray and “preferring a life suitable to beasts” by assuming happiness and pleasure are equal. Living a life preferred by beasts incapacitates a person from achieving the end Utopia. Even though Aristotle does not equate the two, he does stress that minimal pleasure is required to achieve happiness. Someone lacking in vital necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter are not capable of achieving happiness due to their lack of pleasure.