Aristotle, Political philosophy 10/10/17 - Everything is working towards its end-> its telos -Aristotle considered a citizen a man- but not women (emotional, different telos, lack of authority-> due to cultural and social constraints) or slaves (seen as living tools without reason at that time) or vulgar people. This makes the citizenship restricted to a small elite-> how is politics supposed to work then? -Humans have reason, know a distinction between right and wrong -> pinnacle of creation -The state is natural, according to aristoteles, it is a way of organizing society and leads to a harmonious life. He considers the state as the end of the human development -Man is a political being -"The end of politics is the best of ends; and the main concern of politics is to engender a certain character in the citizens and to make them good and ndisposed to perform noble actions" -The state functions as a family, a family has a complementary purpose, different roles fulfill each other and depend on each other -"Collected ownership doesn't work" if things are public, nobody will take care of them E.g public property like parks, bathrooms etc. -Aristotle's Peripatetic School -Aristoteles empirical study of politeia (view slide on moodle) -Aristotle's findings: six types of constitution(view slide on moodle) -He prefers the monarchy Seminar 10/10/17 The ancient greek had city states (polis) which is natural Historical Fallacy Epistemology is the study of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, the distinction between justified belief and opinion.
Teleology- what is the mans purpose? To live a virtuos life. Eudemonia- happiness, state of well being Man is by nature a political being Plato and aristotle Women and slaves and vulgar people do not reach eudemonia- they are not human. The polis is only a function for a slim elite- criticism of the "polis" "MAN IS BY NATURE, MAN BY NATURE IS A POLITICAL ANIMAL" >> nature created us to be political Facebook Yes, because anything involving human interaction is politics. It is a driver of connecting people, and globalizing the world- which is political. Facebook is a political force- it is a melting pot for opinions, a organizer of opinions; it is a democratic invention; a platform for everyone to be heard and to argue political things. - > successful polis includes free speech and debate -> global village And- why would it not be considered politics ?? 17/10/17 LEVIATHAN · Sovereign king with absolute power o Social contract · Dependent on consent and keeping peace ? o People: subjects (no rights except natural laws) -- > John Locke and what to do when the state becomes a threat · Human nature o Glory
o Fear o Self interest · State of nature (no language, culture, sense of time, justice, no social contract) o "Nasty, brutish, short" Hobbes on the State of Nature ARISTOTLES AND HOBBES NORTH KOREA AND HOBBES Is a war in North Korea uninventiable? Fear of which side is going to instigate