THE ESSENCE OF THE GOOD-RULING CONCEPT IN
ARISTOTLE’S VISION
Part IV
Moral Dimension
(continued)
Professor Corina Adriana Dumitrescu Ph.D
“Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University, Bucharest
rectorucdc@yahoo.com
Abstract: The main idea of the article comes to reinforce Aristotle's belief
that a sound reigning could be achieved in both a political society, as well as a in
an ethical one, at the same time. Ethics would not be considered entirely politics,
it is just its major, legislative aspect to be worshipped, its pragmatic wisdom as
a pivot of the moral conduct determination. The more virtuous its members, the
better a society. From the most humble member on the social class scale of a
community till the one on top of the pyramid, who wasches over the best way of
rulling, each individual should exercize virtue, as a way to just try to reach
wisdom, or to really touch it.
Keywords: virtue, wisdom, reason, education, good faith, honour, middle
class.
Being beneficiaries, in this third millennium, of an exceptional cultural
heritage on the one hand, and of an experience validated by the entire human
history as far as the fate of a state-type society, on the other hand, it might be
relatively simple to identify both the ideal pattern of good ruling we aim at and,
more particularly, the set of values that should underline such a ruling.
Aristotle was, is and will be a good counsellor to those who want to read this
paper in good faith, now, even after almost three millennia from the moment
when this great philosopher of ancient times established, in a brilliant manner,
the way of attaining individual happiness and, henceforth, collective happiness.
Although it generated controversies when referred to as being written by
Aristotle, his early paper ‘Protrepticus’ attests to his concern, from the very
beginning, to ‘coach’, to ‘guide’ those around him towards a way of life ruled by
harmony. As a matter of fact, it was characteristic for the Hellenic culture of that
era of great cultural boom, for those who dominated the spirit of their epoch to try
to help their fellows to ‘touch’, even if for a moment, the high spheres of human
soul. This was the main purpose of those ‘guides’, books of ‘advice’ such as the
aforementioned book of Aristotle, who was as concerned as Hesiod or Plato to
enlighten the others about the sense of life.
Aristotle dedicated his “Protrepticus” to Themison, the then king of Cyprus
whom he saw as having all the necessary qualities to devote himself to educating
his soul. The fundamental value, stressed in this book by Aristotle, is education,
which, once gained, and, then, applied, can bring about happiness (eudaimonia).
Education means knowledge of everything that surrounds us and the
identification of the most efficient modalities of using it in our own interest.
Knowledge is always gained through learning, a permanent source of information,
while philosophy is the most comprehensive of all learning.
Protrepticus is a genuine apologia (apologetics) of wisdom, which
should characterise that or those meant to nurture good ruling, and represent the
ultimate level of human development and accomplishment. That is why, from this
perspective, the city had to be ruled by the most capable one who knew how to rule
by properly applying the laws of the city.
Before making these assertions, or, more precisely, before strongly
advocating them, Aristotle referred to man’s purpose on the Earth, with the help
of Pythagoras, who, when asked why people had been created, answered most
beautifully and simply ”To look at the sky” and of Anaxagoras, who , in his turn,
when asked why man would choose to be born and live, said: ”To look at the sky
and at everything in it: the stars, the moon and the sun.” Therefore, here is the
origin of the Good Ruling topic, which lies in the very nature of man; and it is but
natural since essential to good ruling is not a pure social technical
mission, but the provision of that complete propitious environment
where all the spirits populating that society at that frame moment
should get accomplished and fulfil their mission. From this
perspective, it is important that good ruling be founded on a set of
values fully dedicated to supporting the fulfilment of the destiny of
each member of the state community.
Taking into account this unique and extremely difficult to fulfil responsibility,
it is obvious that, in its turn, the good ruling must be maintained by the members
of the community, who should also attain their own accomplishment. From the
simplest member of the community, from the point of view of social hierarchy, to
the one on top of the pyramid, called upon to watch over good ruling, all must
exercise virtue, for some to try and for others to succeed in acceding to wisdom.
Reason, own rationality belonging – at least so far – exclusively to humans
must be actively turned to advantage by everybody, and reason is ‘placed’ by
Aristotle in the upper part of the soul. Think freely, Aristotle used to urge his
fellow citizens, explicitly or implicitly, whenever the case, fully believing that the
sum of these thoughts could found the human universe, which nonetheless people
have the duty to create. Aristotle used to say: “if man could get rid of that part of
himself that reason cannot control, he would have only reason left and would be
like a god”; he almost saw people, as he then perceived them, “half-gods” –
prototype of the superior man, a status to which a common man can aspire in his
life; most certainly Aristotle and many other people like him reached that level
early in their existence. But, the “drama” of the superior individual, especially if
lonely, is to be able to understand both the world and its order in a unique
manner.
The urge addressed to those around him to respect their primordial human
condition, that of rational beings, is permanent throughout the Protrepticus also
2
Vol. II, no. 3/september, 2010
due to the author’s belief that the ‘Good’ lives in and draws its powers from the
human rationality. ”Since reason is our god” – would have said Anaxagoras,
invocated by Aristotle, who subscribed to the wise words of his predecessor, fully
believing that reason is the specific difference between people and other living
beings. Man is thus predestined to be a kind of god to the other creatures and the
status of half-god among people of a superior man is thus substantiated. The
conclusion of this early book is closely related to the two qualities that must be
attained by the human spirit, reason and wisdom. ”People have nothing godly or
blessed, nothing worthy except reason and wisdom. Of what we have they alone
seem to be immortal, godly.”
As a rational being, man is connatural with deity (through his intellect,
nous), to which he aspires as an ideal landmark, a model to be imitated for his
own accomplishment. Both in morals and in politics, so closely related, Aristotle is
the exponent of an intellectualistic trend. Thus, his ethics is one of reason, of
wisdom, respectively, which presupposes to exercise all virtues.
Due to such an approach, good ruling can be entrusted only to the man who
proves to be good, brave, strong, but good ruling must be practically exercised by
the law, since it is about the rule of law that Aristotle tells us here, the law “as it
emanates from wisdom.”
The set of values that must be protected so as, in their turn, to uphold good
ruling is supplemented in Nicomachean Ethics by life experience, by the
practice of the good in life, specific to that or those who are responsible for the
destiny of the city.
Virtue and the quality of being virtuous of the leader of the community
generate a model which turns the others prone to listening. Virtue “lives” in
people’s soul and its constant practice generates harmony in life, in living it. The
one called to rule who finds support in politics in ruling must be a connoisseur of
the human soul, on the one hand, and a fair practitioner of its virtue, on the other
hand. The link between wisdom and virtue is made also by Aristotle when he sets
out the thesis according to which there are virtues of the intellect such as wisdom,
intelligence and prudence, and moral virtues such as generosity and moderation.
Good ruling should be entrusted to those cultivating intellectual as well as
ethic virtues; but if the leader of the city is also brave, we have civic bravery,
closely related to the sense of honour, the profile of the ideal personality getting
stronger.
Those called upon to be responsible for good ruling must have a noble soul
because this noble-mindedness ultimately generates the moral beauty without
which Aristotle says that the act of ruling cannot attain its goal.
Noble-mindedness, a great soul ”asks” Aristotle from that called to rule the
destiny of the others, because only the one that has such a soul will be capable of
great deeds meant to mark the existence of a people in this world.
Decency must also characterise all people and all the more so those involved
in good ruling, each having to know, to listen and to speak properly and with the
respect everyone deserves.
The sense of justice must also animate the virtuous man, especially when, by
virtue of his prerogatives, be they temporary, he has to “serve justice”. Given the
Cogito – Multidisciplinary Research Journal
3
importance of justice, both social and individual, Aristotle gives the definition of
justice: ”justice is the virtue according to which the just one does the just thing by
free choice, and upon serving, when it comes either to his own relationship with
another, or to the relationships of other persons, he does not allot more of the
desired things to himself and less to others, and the other way round when it
comes to unpleasant things, but maintains a proportional equality, and then allots
the same way to another in relation to a third one.” Therefore, it is not enough for
the one involved in good ruling to consider that he is an individual characterised,
permeated by the sense of justice; Aristotle “asks” his to practise justice, to apply
the “technology” of doing, respectively of serving justice.
One may believe that the one or the ones called to establish the institutions
meant to “put in place” good ruling should be perfect people; certainly, Aristotle
would have like that, but, being realistic, he reduces to a set of three qualities their
“moral dimension”: competence, virtue and sense of justice, as well as
commitment to the regime they have to uphold. Certainly, in times when
the morals of the community are damaged, even these only three virtues could be
hardly found in one person.
Aristotle endows education again and again as being meant to bring to light
the good as a “gift” everybody possesses and henceforth the individual’s
accomplishment in a virtuous manner. That is why the one called to rule the city
must be well educated so as to be dedicated to ensuring education to all the other
members of the community. This interpretation is confirmed in the last chapter of
Nicomachean Ethics, where the relations between ethical becomes the
framework for the no less important topic of education; noting the general
inefficiency of theoretic learning, which sticks to reasoning, Aristotle pointed to
the need to enact moral norms, therefore state intervention, in order to obtain a
virtuous behaviour of all citizens (On the role of the politician in educating
the citizens).
The one who has “built” his entire “moral personality” on the ethic creed
advocated and practised by Aristotle, can be accountable for good ruling only in a
democratic regime, appreciated by the author as having freedom as fundamental
principle, which would practically mean to rule and be ruled, in turns, that is a
freedom of superior, that is virtuous individual, even equal in point of virtue,
which allows each of them to rule in his turn, after having been ruled. Therefore,
those called upon to achieve “good ruling” had to have the intelligence to accept to
be ruled, as, ab initio, the same, before being in a position to rule, should have had
to already be ruled in order to know what the ruled ones expect from those who
rule them.
While until now Aristotle outlined the essence of good ruling with its
institutional, practical and moral dimensions, somehow “aggregated” in an inner
edifice, from now on he externalises his “construction” so that everybody could
find out what city could be defined as the “beneficiary” of good ruling and, why
not, whose citizens could live a happy life.
First of all, that city should be inhabited by virtuous citizens, somehow equal
in point of virtue, who should rule and be ruled, by rotation. This “equality” in the
practice of a virtuous life entitles all those making up the city that is to be ruled to
4
Vol. II, no. 3/september, 2010
a “rotation” of their social status; it is easy to note that, in the end, each time, it is
in the name of virtue – as a common denominator – of its attainment, that the city
is to be ruled. It is but natural that in this “live” city the first called to rule should
be the elderly, the philosophers, because wisdom is founded on a vast life
experience, while the young ones accept their turn when they have experienced
profound existence themselves.
A city is well ruled when the laws regulate citizens’ safety, the harmony
among various dominant interests, peace and, last but not least, a good education
for its citizens. Education is directly determined by the type of regime whose
support must be ensured by its citizens, more precisely, education must cultivate
those values that represent the moral foundation of the respective regime. The
political regime only mirrors faithfully the way of living of a city. A well ruled city
is mostly made up of those belonging to the middle class. The middle class should
be supported by a good ruling because it boasts many willing to live a virtuous life
based on a solid education. It is here that the people, being relatively equal, agree
to rule and be ruled, to dedicate themselves, in both circumstances, to the
wellbeing of the city. Those that make up the middle class will oppose both the
excesses of the well-offs and the claims of the needy, securing a balance between
the divergent trends manifest in a society. Aristotle gives as example of superiority
of a well ruled city the epoch of Solon in Athens, who is known to have belonged to
the middle class, epoch which, although short-lived, proved that good ruling is not
only a concept in theory but also an actually lived reality.
The contemporary character of good ruling is, maybe, due to causes such as
the consolidation of the middle class in the civilised world, and, why not, to the
“moral duty” of developing a society so cleverly foreseen by Aristotle.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Aristotle, (2007), Athenian State, Bucureşti, Ed. Antet.
[2] Aristotle, (2005), Protrepticus, trad. Bogdan Mincă şi Cătălin Partenie,
Bucureşti, Ed. Humanitas.
[3] Aristotle, (1998), Nicomachean Ethics, trad. Stella Petecel, Bucureşti,
Ed. Iri.
[4] Aristotle, (2001), Politics, trad. Al. Baumgarten, Bucureşti, Ed. Iri.
[5] Aristotle, (2001), Metaphysics, trad. A. Cornea, Bucureşti, Humanitas.
Cogito – Multidisciplinary Research Journal
5