PSCI 2301 Lecture Notes - Practical Action, Selfishness, Personal Rule
Document Summary
Class 6 aristotle"s politics: aristotle is a student of plato trained in medicine (practical and empirical) Stepped out onto his own path as a student. Makes a lot of corrections and has a lot of issues with plato. Trained in medicine, so his approach is much more practical and empirical looks at them like plants. Purpose is to give practical advice to statesmen who are governing real states: ontology science of what is. Aristotle is dealing with things as they are in this world. Everything goes through a temporal cycle of growth, maturity, and decay. All things participate in this motion but we have to understand what the perfect potential is of every given thing. Called essence or substance: essence and substance. Essence is the what of a thing. Trees always strive for the perfect form, no matter if they get hit by lightning or gnawed on. The highest form of man is in his full, powerful maturity.