![]() ![]() ![]() Although Aristotle disagrees with Plato that politics and law fundamentally suppress one’s ability to have happiness (in the name of the common good), he agrees with Plato in rejecting the political ideas of the sophists who advocate for the ancient equivalent of ethical egoism and self-interested advancement and material acquisition. The highest extension, or reflection, of our social animus is the politeia – the realm of the political. His politics is rooted in his famous declaration that humans are political (e.g. ![]() That said, Aristotle’s political theories are still influential today and serve as a fundamental starting point for political philosophy and remain essential reading for all students in political philosophy, political theory, and political science.Īristotle can aptly be defined as a virtue political theorist. Many of the ideas of Aristotle’s political theory held sway until the Reformation, and then began to lose ground with the rise of the mechanical philosophers of the 17 th century, challenged by the likes of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Benedict Spinoza. Aristotle’s Politics and Ethics are fundamental in political philosophy studies, and his ideas were largely incorporated into Christian political theory through the rise of Catholicism. Aristotle is remembered as one of the greatest of the classical philosophers, metaphysicians, and epistemologists, but he was equally the most important political philosopher of the ancient world. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |