However, it is also important to read Nicomachean Ethics in order to fully understand Aristotle’s political project. The most important text for understanding Aristotle’s political philosophy, not surprisingly, is the Politics. This article will not attempt to organize all of Aristotle’s work into a coherent whole, but will draw on different texts as they are necessary to complete one version of Aristotle’s view of politics. The question of how these writings should be unified into a consistent whole (if that is even possible) is an open one and beyond the scope of this article. These studies, and in particular the Constitution of Athens, will be discussed in more detail below (Who Should Rule?). Aristotle’s theories about the best ethical and political life are drawn from substantial amounts of empirical research. The Politics makes frequent reference to political events and institutions from many of these cities, drawing on his students’ research. For example, in order to understand political phenomena, he had his students collect information on the political organization and history of 158 different cities. They remained, and remain, so valuable in part because of the comprehensiveness of his efforts. His writings on many of these interests remained definitive for almost two millennia.
He wrote about meteorology, biology, physics, poetry, logic, rhetoric, and politics and ethics, among other subjects. As a scholar, Aristotle had a wide range of interests. It is noteworthy that although Aristotle praises the politically active life, he spent most of his own life in Athens, where he was not a citizen and would not have been allowed to participate directly in politics (although of course anyone who wrote as extensively and well about politics as Aristotle did was likely to be politically influential).Īristotle studied under Plato at Plato’s Academy in Athens, and eventually opened a school of his own (the Lyceum) there. There is certainly no evidence that Alexander’s subsequent career was much influenced by Aristotle’s teaching, which is uniformly critical of war and conquest as goals for human beings and which praises the intellectual, contemplative lifestyle. Clearly, Aristotle had significant firsthand experience with politics, though scholars disagree about how much influence, if any, this experience had on Aristotle’s thought.
Aristotle also knew Philip of Macedon (son of Amyntas III) and there is a tradition that says Aristotle tutored Philip’s son Alexander, who would later be called “the Great” after expanding the Macedonian Empire all the way to what is now India. His father was court physician to Amyntas III of Macedon, so Aristotle grew up in a royal household.
However, like the other ancient philosophers, it was not the stereotypical ivory tower existence.
0 kommentar(er)
