Selection From The Politics

Presented by
Dr.Maryam Mubarik

The Politics
Written by Aristotle
Consists of eight books
Translated by Benjamin Jowet
Written after The Republic by Plato

Book I
The city is a political partnership aimed at the most
authoritative good. Investigating the composition of the
city will allow us to understand the different kinds of
rule : political, kingly and household.
All political associations are formed as a result of
deliberate human acts and are designed with the aim of
achieving a particular good.
He explains by breaking down the whole into its parts and
then the parts into their parts, until we reach the
fundamental parts of the whole.

 Man is by nature a political animal," because he alone among the

animals has the ability to communicate his ideas about justice and
the good.
Man has potential for great good, but without law and virtue can
be the worst of all the animals.
The household is made up of three kinds of relationships which
are:
1.Master-slave
2.Marital
3.Parental

He also cites a fourth element, the acquisition of wealth.

He gives two different methods of acquisition:
1.Household management
2.Business management
Businesses supply goods and households consume them.
A natural slave is one who does not have the full use of reason, The
natural slave perceives reason, but does not have it. but for those
who are natural slaves, slavery is both advantageous and just.
Legal slavery, usually the result of military conquest, is unjust and
disadvantageous because not all the conquered people are slaves by
nature.

Book II
He explains that Plato recommends extensive sharing even
holding in common children, wives and pieces of property.
His main objection to Platos proposal to create as much unity as
possible in the state in this way is that all states need diversity of
people, opinion and the functions they perform.
A state should be made up of members of different social classes,
all making different contributions and performing different roles,
otherwise it will fail to be self-sufficient.

Book II
Without this it would resemble a household and the
household in turn an individual representing just one
particular opinion.
People have less respect for common property. It is not their
personal possession and they assume that someone else is
taking care of it, so they need not do likewise.

Book III
This book contains some of Aristotles best and most interesting work.
Its main focus is the nature of different constitutions, but Aristotle
argues that before we discuss this we must define what a citizen is,
because, after all, a state is made up of citizens.
A citizen is one who is distinguished from others by his participation
in giving judgment and in holding office.
A state is defined by its constitution
A regime is "an arrangement of a city with respect to its offices,"
particularly the governing body.

 There are two types of regime

1. Correct regimes
2. Unjust regimes
The correct regimes are kingship rule by one, aristocracy
rule by a few, and polity rule by the multitude.
The deviant regimes are tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy.
Tyranny is the rule of a master, oligarchy is the rule of those
who have property, and democracy is the rule of the poor.

Book IV
In this book Aristotle turns to practical considerations. He argues that
political theorists must not only be concerned with theory, but what we
can do to create regimes that are best in the circumstances.
He examines four kinds of constitutions.
1. First, we must examine the ideal constitution, theoretically a ideal form
of government exactly as we would wish regardless of circumstances.
2. Second, we must examine the best in the circumstances, suited to the
particular persons that make up the state.
3. Third, we must examine constitutions that already exist in the
circumstances and consider how they came about and how they can be
improved.

Book IV
4. Fourth, we must consider the sort of constitution that would suit all states.

Aristotle explains why there are several different kinds of constitution:

a) To every state there are different parts (households, professional
groups, social classes, etc.)
b) Within each there are varying social and economic conditions.
c) In addition to wealth there are differences of family, virtue and so on.
All of this inevitably produces a variety of constitutions.
Conti

 Some people are accustomed to group these under just two

categories:
1. Democracy
2. Oligarchy
Democracy occurs whenever the free are sovereign and
oligarchy when the rich are sovereign.

 Aristotle breaks the state down into five basic parts:

1. Farmers: who are concerned with food production
2. The mechanical class: concerned with making the state habitable
3. The commercial class: who buy and sell;
4. The hired laborers
5. The military
But then he adds more that are essential to the state: the judicial
element, those who deliberate and give decisions on matters of justice;
the well-to-do; and the officials, who render public service.

Book IV
He explains that, whatever the form of government, there
must be three elements the law giver must provide:
1. The deliberative to discuss and decide what is to be
done
2. The officials to carry out the policy
3. The judicial system

Book V
In this book Aristotle discusses the causes of
constitutional change and revolution
1. Factional conflicts
2. Equality: equality by number and inequality by merit.
3. Cause of revolution for oligarchies and aristocracies is
unjust treatment.

Book V
Oligarchy and tyranny are the most short-lived regimes.
Advantageous laws are laws that help to preserve the regime.
Regimes can be preserved from revolution by:
1. To ensure that the laws are enforced
2. The rulers act justly toward the multitude
3. To prevent any person from becoming overly powerful

Book VI
In this book Aristotle challenges the question how can
constitutions be made to work best?
1. Aristotle's view on the connection between freedom and virtue
2. Aristotle addresses flaw of democracy: Freedom
3. Four sorts of Democracy: Farmer, Herdsmen, Laborers and
Merchants.
The best democracy is not extreme. Moderate or mixed
constitutions are far more durable.

Tasks of legislator
To maintain large audiences at assembly meetings people should
be paid to attend, but if there is insufficient revenue, there should
be fewer and briefer assemblies, rather than increasing the taxes
on the rich.
If there are revenues available, one should not allow popular
leaders to distribute the surplus in order to gain popularity.
The duty of a true democrat is to ensure that the population is not
destitute, because this is the cause of corrupt democracy.

 It is not enough to give the destitute donations to live on:

revenues should be used constructively to help people become
independent.
Aristotle's emphasis on living virtuously as the central goal of
politics
Aristotle's situation that:
"the city exists not only for the sake of living but rather primarily for
the sake of living well" and his consequent belief that "virtue must
be a care for every city are actually a means to protect the

citizens' true freedom.

Book VII
He distinguishes between three ingredients that must be present to be
capable of a happy life:
a) Our bodily existence (health, the senses, sensual pleasure, etc.)
b) Our intellectual and moral qualities (wisdom, virtue, etc.)
c) Things external (wealth, reputation, power, property, etc.)
Next Aristotle shifts his attention to consider the practicalities of the ideal
state.
His first concern is population. A states population should be neither too
large, nor too small.

 The quality of citizens is more important than quantity. So the optimal

number is that which is necessary for achieving self-sufficiency.
The same applies to territory:
1. It should be large enough to guarantee self-sufficiency.
2. Allowing citizens to live at leisure and with moderation.
3. It must also be easily survey.
People that make the best citizens
1. Aristotle believes that those who live in the colder, Northern
European regions are full of spirit, but lack skill and intellect, so they
lack political cohesion.

2. On the other hand, Asians have intellect and skill, but lack spirit, so they

remain slaves.
3. But Greeks, lying at the mid-point between these two geographically,
have a measure of both spirit and intelligence. So they make good
citizens and continue to live under the best constitutions.
As for the siting and protection of a city:
1.

Aristotle argues that it should be in a place where the terrain and climate
are favorable to peoples health.

2. The four things that must be looked for are good, air ; clean water;
administrative convenience; and it must be defensible.

BOOK VIII -How to educate the

citizen
He begins his description of the educational process, he
characteristically divides the soul into two parts:

1. Rational (logic)
2. Irrational (feelings, passions and qualities).
Education aims mainly to influence the former.
Citizens should be educated to follow noble things at all times.
The aim of the educational program is to train men in the virtues.
He argues that legislators should have laws governing marriage in
order to ensure procreation takes place at the right time.

 Aristotle argues that the education of the young should be the states
responsibility.
Aristotle distinguishes between four traditional areas of study:
1. Reading
2. Writing
3. Physical education
4. Music and drawing.
The education of a citizen should be designed to enable him to employ his
intellectual and artistic abilities to the full, to live a life of virtue and
leisure.

 Happiness and the virtuous life is a state attained not by work

but by leisure.
Aristotle then turns to the role of music in education.
He suggests three possible reasons for its inclusion:
1. It is a source of amusement and refreshment.
2. It is a stimulus to virtue, capable of shaping a certain type of
character.
3. It makes a contribution to civilized pursuits and practical
wisdom.

Conclusion
Man has potential for great good, but without law and virtue can be the
worst of all the animals.
Plato proposes his Unity concept because he wants the city to be a unity,
but his reasoning is flawed because the city by nature must a multitude.
otherwise it would be a household.
Aristocracy's defining principle is virtue, oligarchy's is wealth, and
democracy's is freedom.
The varieties of constitution: Monarchy, Aristocracy, Tyranny, Oligarchy,
Democracy
Happiness, as defined in the discourse on ethics, is "the actualization and
complete practice of virtue.
Education is the states responsibility and it should focus virtue.

References
Aristotle.(1885). The politics of Aristotle. Translated by Jowett.
London: Clarendon press

Cahn, M. S.(19970). The Philosophical foundations of Education.

New York: Harper & Row Publishers.
Flanagan, F.M. (2006). The Greatest Educators Ever.
NewYork: Continuum.
Seets, W. T. (2015). Unani Falsafa. Translated by Nawaz. Mushtaq
Book Corner

Thank you