POL200Y1 Chapter 8: Aristotle, Intro to Politics, Books 1.1-7, 1.12-13, 2.1-5
Nature and Politics
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Necessity and the good
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Telos
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Themes
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Gotten together to do something good
▪
Different political rule from other cities (family)
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Rule from ruling free citizens than master over slave
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Chapter 1: What is politics
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Basic family / village --> rely on each other, self-sufficiency, can't rely
on selves alone
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City achieves minimum level of self-sufficiency
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Going beyond city = harder for citizens to participate
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Require large communities
Necessity drives us together (lack of self-sufficiency)
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Good: human flourishing (city exists for living well)
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How is the city natural
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Virtue: excellence of something )how well it achieves an
end)
Political life helps us achieve our ends
End / purpose - telos of an acorn is to become a tree
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Telos
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1.2: Origin of the City
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End of 1.2, page 11: We have conception of good / justice --> logos
(our language/reason)
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Man can be the best - can be the worst
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Logos - highest in us, can make us most wicked
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Most artful cruelty - beasts don't enslave other beasts
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Cannot eliminate human evil - necessary
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Telos of men: what separates men from bees?
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Book I
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Justify on the basis of nature - less developed logos / physical
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Only have enough capacity to understand orders
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Essentially subhuman
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1254 b 16 page 16 : 'All men who differ by nature are slaves, apprehending
in another'
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Are there really people so dumb / incapable?
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Conquered people = slaves --> but what if not deserving?
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Can't control who is born to whom
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Raises more questions than it answers
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How to test the soul?
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Complicated argument in relation to necessity / goods
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Irony --> city necessarily has injustice
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Nature v. Artificial Slavery
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Reason but not authoritative
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Convention allows rule?
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No clear answer
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Women - inferior
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Slaves - justified?
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Regimes and City
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Book II
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Tutorial 8: Aristotle Intro to
Politics
, Books 1.1-7,
1.12-13, 2.1-5
November 22, 2016
7:14 PM
TUTORIAL Page 83
Document Summary
Tutorial 8: aristotle intro to politics, books 1. 1-7, Rule from ruling free citizens than master over slave. Basic family / village --> rely on each other, self-sufficiency, can"t rely on selves alone. Going beyond city = harder for citizens to participate. Good: human flourishing (city exists for living well) End / purpose - telos of an acorn is to become a tree. Virtue: excellence of something )how well it achieves an end) End of 1. 2, page 11: we have conception of good / justice --> logos (our language/reason) Man can be the best - can be the worst. Logos - highest in us, can make us most wicked. Most artful cruelty - beasts don"t enslave other beasts. Justify on the basis of nature - less developed logos / physical. 1254 b 16 page 16 : "all men who differ by nature are slaves, apprehending in another" Complicated argument in relation to necessity / goods.
