- What is a political "regime" or "constitution"?
- What are the different types of regimes as outlined by Aristotle?
Lehrman American Studies Center at ISI
Home > Catalog > Aristotle's Politics
BOOK
Aristotle's Politics
| Author: | Aristotle |
| Translators: | Hippocrates G. Apostle and Lloyd P. Gerson |
| ISBN: | 091158904X |
| Publication Info: | Grinnell, Iowa : Peripatetic Press, c1986. |
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David Kidd on Dec 16, 2008
Gabriel Martinez on Dec 16, 2008
- According to Aristotle, who makes economic decisions (that is, decisions over the acquisition, distribution, and use of material goods and services)?
- For Aristotle, what is the purpose of accumulating wealth? What sets a limit to the accumulation of wealth?
- For Aristotle, what is the most important instrument for production? How does this instrument come into existence?
- Would Aristotle be an egalitarian? Would he support a more or less equal distribution of resources and incomes across people in a society? How would he justify his ideas about the distribution of resources?
Lee Trepanier on Dec 16, 2008
The Politics could be used for a Classical Philosophy, Introduction to Politics, or any political philosophy course. Of all the translations of the Politics, Apostle's and Gerson's is my favorite, although it may be hard to find copies of them. I also like Carnes Lord's translation as well as the Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought one.
The first question that confronts the professor is whether to assign Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics before reading the Politics. If the professor is pressed for time, he should at least provide some outline of Aristotle's ethical thought before students read the Politics. The Cambridge version includes Book 10, chapter 9 of the Ethics as well as The Athenian Constitution in its book. I usually assign Books 1-2 (happiness and virtue), 5 (justice), and parts of 10 of the Ethics before starting the Politics. I believe it's crucial to show the link between Aristotle's ethical thought to his political theory in order to understand fully The Politics.
With respect to the Politics, I usually skip Books 2 and 8 unless I have graduate students. Again, if I am pressed for time, I will assign Book 1, chapters 1-2; Books 3-4, and Book 7. If time permits, I include Books 5-6 to discuss how democratic and obligarhic elemenets can create conditions of revolution and what Aristotle proposes to avoid them. Once we have finished with the text, I often ask students to apply an Aristotelian analysis to a contemporary regime other than the United States to check whether they have grasp some understanding of The Politics.
Carolyn Garris on Dec 16, 2008
From Lee Trepanier's syllabus:
Books 1 & 3 -- What is Aristotle's conception of nature? How does he define citizenship and regimes? What are the different claims to rule? How are these claims related to political justice and the rule of law?
Books 4 & 5 -- What are the different types of regime? What is the best pracitcable regime? How should political institutions - deliberative, executive, and judicial - be constructed? What are the causes of revolutions? How can they be prevented?
Book 6 -- What are the varieties of democracy and how are they established? What is the nature of democratic equality? How can we preserve democratic regimes? What is the relationship between the democratic and oligarch elements in a democracy?
Book 7 -- What is Aristotle's account of the best regime? What features, if any, does the current American republic possess?
Book 8 -- What is Aristotle's account of the best education for citizens? Why such an emphasis on music? How would Aristotle critique popular music today?
Carolyn Garris on Dec 16, 2008
From Robert Ingram's syllabus:
What does Aristotle mean when he says that man is a "political animal"? In what sort of political regime does he think the good life can best be realized?