Introduction to Political theory
Is Aristotle’s ideal state a place of hierarchy rather than equality? Discuss.
Aristotle is a philosopher who was born in the Greek town of Stagirus in 384 BCE and is well known for being a thinker who presented his views on a range of things, ranging from philosophy to politics. One of the key areas in Politics he addressed was the ideal city and what he believed it consisted of. The ideal city could be viewed as the ‘end of associations’ and why this is, I will later explore in the text. Whilst trying to understand his perspective on the ideal city it is essential to remember he is a teleological thinker thus, he believes that everything has a function and purpose; this becomes obvious throughout his text. Although to some extent it could be argued that Aristotle’s ideal state is a place of equality, I feel that it is more of a place where hierarchy is presented. The main reason for this is because when speaking of how a state is created he claims that a state is made up of lots of villages which come together through households, which are created through associations. The reasons why I feel that these associations create hierarchy, alongside other contributions I will discuss in this essay.
In terms of his associations Aristotle goes into depth by explaining three key associations which are the slave and the master, the wife and the husband and the child and the father. When looking into the household in detail we are able to see a hierarchy present which will inevitably affect the city. Due to the fact that slavery is an acceptable notion for Aristotle whereby every house should include a slave we are able to see that the household itself is a state of hierarchy. ‘Because as far as the p...
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...s certain roles which in a sense comes ‘naturally’ to them, it is definitely one of hierarchy rather than equality. This is simply because when you look deep down, and break down the associations that when added together create the state then you will see the hierarchy present whether it’s between the master and the slave, the wife and the husband and the father and the child. Furthermore, when there is a division presented between citizens of the state and non-citizens then obviously the state cannot be equal because this barrier exists between the two which is sought to be the norm. However, it could also be said that a state of pure equality would never actually work properly therefore hierarchy would always be present. Nevertheless I feel that in an ideal state there should not be a hierarchy, and this hierarchy is clearly displayed in Aristotle’s ideal state.
Summary # 1: In Aristotle, Book VII, Chapter 2, Aristotle illustrates what are the characteristics of an ideal city. Aristotle starts by making a comparison between a city and human what they need to be happy. He states that for both they need internal virtue in order to have happiness. The man focus of Aristotle in this chapter is all about what is the most worthy way of life and which regime is the best.
Aristotle purposed his theory through a way of stating how political community is best of all for
Athens was at once the site of the forerunner of democracy, the epitome of Classical architecture, the height of drama, naval superiority, and enlightened minds such as Socrates. As much as these developments gave Athens its preeminence, and despite how rapidly it fell, the growth of Athens in this brief time has given us the source of our modern democracy, our sense of culture, and our ideals for society. In the Age of Pericles, Athens bloomed, but even now we relish its benefits.
As in other areas of “The Republic,” Plato carefully outlines the delineations which form the basis for the types of rulers to be installed in the state. “Rulers” (legislative and udicial), “Auxiliaries” (executive), and “Craftsmen” (productive and fficacious) are the titles of the categories and are based, not on birth or wealth, but on natural capacities and aspirations. Plato was convinced that children born into any class should still be moved up or down based on their merits regardless of their connections or heritage. He believes the citizens of the State will support and benefit from such a system and presents the idea in the form of an allegorical myth.
...kingship, aristocracy and polity are all good forms of ruling because each serves the interest of the people or community. Overall, Aristotle believes that we must not question how many rule, but instead ask how they are capable of ruling or do they rule in a manner that best serves the community. Aristotle’s Politics gives a simpler critique of democracy than Plato’s Republic, however it is convincing in the sense that in order to rule for the good of the community or the good life (Bios) one should only question that capability of those ruling rather than ask the quantity.
Socrates evaluates four city constitutions that evolve from aristocracy: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. As a result that these four types of cities exist, four additional types of individuals who inhabit them also exist. Although these city constitutions evolve from aristocracy, Socrates deems aristocracy to be the most efficient, therefore the most just, of the constitutions because the individuals within it are ruled by the rational part of the soul.
Howard, G 2010, ‘Equality in Athens: Between Lot and Specialization’, viewed April 1 2010 .
In Plato’s republic, a philosophical account on the kallipolis (the beautiful city) is built on the perspective of Socrates and his discussion between his companions. In the republic, the city in which ones live in depends on the soul and the character of the city one lives in. In this paper the character of human nature and politics will be discussed in how a city is ought to be by the influence of human nature and politics. Firstly, the influence of human nature on politics will be looked at, for example according to Plato on behalf of Socrates; he claims that a just soul creates a just society, where it is human nature to be just, that influences in creating a just political system. Secondly, politics influences human nature, where in the republic when the discussion of guardians starts out between Socrates and the companions, there is political thought discussed between them, where Socrates wants to create the perfect guardians through specific training in all types of skills instituted to creating a perfect protector. Lastly, human nature is human soul if the soul is just the city is going to be just. It is the human nature which has created communities without any political thought put in place; it political thought that forms rules and laws. Thus, human nature is part of the individual understanding of its society that creates an understanding of how one ought to be, which in turns creates rules and laws that is essentially viewed as politics.
One of Plato's goals in The Republic, as he defines the Just City, is to illustrate what kind of leader and government could bring about the downfall of his ideal society. To prevent pride and greed in leaders would ensure that they would not compromise the well being of the city to obtain monetary gains or to obtain more power. If this state of affairs becomes firmly rooted in the society, the fall to Tyranny begins. This is the most dangerous state that the City become on i...
This paragraph will concern the social structure of ancient Greece society. In ancient Greece society, only native-born men were granted citizenship and entitled to full protection of the law in a city-state (wikipedia.org/Ancient Greece). In the majority of city-states, social prominence did not include special rights. In some situations, families controlled public functions, but this did not exactly grant extra power for the government. In the state of Athens, the population was divided into four social classes which was based on wealth. A persons amount of income was able to determine of they were eligible to change classes. In Sparta, male citizens received the title of equal if they completed their education requirements. With this being
His opinion on life was that all people should live a fair and happy life. After many attempts of forming the perfect government, his facts allowed him to believe that a perfect government could be formed only by those who have a middle class. The middle class would consist of those who were not rich, yet not poor. Both Aristotle and Plato had different thoughts on the division of the government. Aristotle claimed to believe that a government should consist of many classes for the protection of the people and the state.
Justice has always been a very interesting topic to philosophers and for many ordinary people also. Justice is defined as the concern for peace and genuine respect for others or simply put: the fairness in which people are treated. Aristotle and Plato, two well-known individuals of ancient Athens, were the earliest philosophers who thought about justice and developed their own ideas about the aspects of being just. In this paper I will attempt to prove that instead of pursuing a life of injustice that a life of justice would make life more meaningful. In order to reach my conclusion, I am going to explain the concept of justice and its aspects from the perspective of both Plato and Aristotle by incorporating their more famous works “The Republic” and “The Nicomachean Ethics.” I will also, at the end of this paper, side with either Plato or Aristotle depending on which one of them I believe to be more just in my own opinion.
Plato believed that everything had an ideal form, but Aristotle looked into the real world and studied that. Instead of inventing a system of government, Aristotle explored more of practical things that you can realistically put into effect. Aristotle’s main aim was to “consider, not only what form of government is best, but also what is possible and what is easily attainable”. Meaning that he wanted everyone to be able to relate and adapt to his form of power. He wanted people to be servant to his laws because if the law were an order, it would make a good society. He ended up maintaining a government somewhat like a democracy, where the middle class is strong. Aristotle produced natural domination as one of his biggest theories. Aristotle believed that people were born into being a ruler or in slavery. He wanted people to accept what they are and do what they were born to do. It was the only way that he thought the world would be able to work and not come out with a lot of problems. This is way he believes that everyone is born with a color that tells you your placement in the world. Your placement is not genetic and can’t run in the
At first, Socrates was challenged to find the reason and method to be moral. Socrates’ first step was to define the Just State. He initially examined in a broader spectrum by thinking about the state to understand the true nature of justice along with what makes the state moral. A key concept starts with the notion of an Ideal State. In the Ideal state, first, comes the idea of Division of labor. In a state, jobs are divided so that each person has one job. Compartmentalizing the job benefits to creating a thriving community. Initially, Socrates describes the agrarian community. In the agrarian society, each person fulfills there needs and nothing more, which creates an internal harmony among the citizens. Generally, in an agrarian community, people are not greedy, reducing the tendency to steal. Also, diversity, hierarchy, and government do not exist. Because the citizens don’t have excess of anything, the negative factors like gluttony are taken away, causing an immense benefit to the society. Therefore, we can call the agrarian community a just or moral state.
What is the ideal state? This question has sparked debate since the very formation of organized political society. In Plato’s The Republic, Plato seeks to define justice and in doing so he seeks to explain the ideal just state. In Plato’s explanation of an ideal state, there is an extreme emphasis on unity and harmony. The reason unity and harmony are so important to Plato are because they are responsible for bonding together Plato’s ideal state and protecting it from tyranny. Plato explains at great length the framework which ties together the individual soul with the ideal political society. Without unity and harmony, an aristocracy would ultimately decay into a democracy, and according to Plato, sooner rather than later a tyrant would rule the state.