OUTLINE
Admin
Recap last week’s lecture on Aristotle
We will discuss:
the Master – Slave relationship
The rule of the household and the principle of rulership in
general
What a citizen is
What forms of government there are
ADMIN
Remember your first tutorial assessment is due at the Philosophy department
tomorrow before 12:00!
In 300 words, summarise the essential points in Aristotle’s Politics, Book I,
sections 5-7.
Tutor consultation times:
Likhwa: Mondays 10:00-11:40
Patience: Wednesdays 12:10-13:50
Schalk: Mondays 11:40-13:20
Wesley: Tuesdays 12:10-13:50
I have been informed that the 2A Blackboard module is being set up at this very
moment. You should have access to it tomorrow/Friday.
FREE WRITING
Free writing is a method of writing where you jot down all the thoughts as they come
to your mind immediately.
Don’t worry about using punctuation, grammar or structure. The purpose is simply to
get as many ideas as possible onto a page.
This is a good technique to use when you have writing block or when you want to
remind yourself of what you’ve read or learned.
Use free writing to jot down everything you remember from last week’s lecture on
Aristotle.
Elements of the state (kinds of koinonia/community)
The purpose of the state.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Which of these are superior to the other?
WITS/UJ
Tame horse/wild horse
Child/Adult
North Korea/South Korea
How did you decide which is superior?
What kind of relationship of authority exists between the following?
Parent/Child
Doctor/Patient
President/Citizen
Boss/Employee
BOOK 1, SECTIONS 5-7
“Hence we see what is the nature and office of a slave; he who is by nature
not his own but another’s man, is by nature a slave; and he may be said
to be another’s man who, being a human being, is also a possession.
And a possession may be defined as an instrument of action, separable
from the possessor…But is there any one thus intended by nature to be
a slave, and for whom such a condition is expedient and right, or rather
is not all slavery a violation of nature?”
What is Aristotle’s answer?
Who should rule and who should be subjected?
What kind of relationship exists between the master and the slave?
What kind of people are suited to be slaves, and what kind to be masters?
POLITICS, BOOK 3
Book 1 covered such various topics as the different associations that the state is
comprised of, and the kind of rule appropriate for each relationship.
Master - Slave: Despotic
Male - Female: Constitutional
Parent - Child: Royal
The parts of the state can be constructed and arranged in different ways, and
therefore the state can accordingly be ruled in different ways.
Book 3 picks up from this idea and addresses the two main questions:
Who are the citizens of the state?
What are the different kinds of rule of a state, and which are better?
BOOK 3, SECTION 5
A citizen is one whom the state is meant to benefit.
“Hence, as is evident, there are different kinds of citizens; and he is a citizen in the highest
sense who shares in the honors of the state.”
Aristotle identifies several factors that influence who is counted as a citizen and who is not.
“But in many states the law goes to the length of admitting aliens; for in some
democracies a man is a citizen though his mother only be a citizen; and a
similar principle is applied to illegitimate children; the law is relaxed when
there is a dearth of population. But when the number of citizens increases,
first the children of a male or a female slave are excluded; then those whose
mothers only are citizens; and at last the right of citizenship is confined to
those whose fathers and mothers are both citizens.”
BOOK 3, SECTIONS 6 &7
There are various kinds of states, each defined according to how its rule is structured.
The two ways in which rule or authority can be exercised are either despotically or
constitutionally.
(Recall Master – Slave rule.) A despotic way of ruling is where the ruler is selfish and
takes only his own interests into account when making decisions. Citizens are not
regarded as having an equal share in the running of the state, and therefore this
mode of rule is unjust.
On the other hand, a constitutional way of ruling always takes into account the
interests of all citizens. It is therefore concerned with the common good and is
just.
BOOK 3, SECTIONS 6 &7
The state may be structured according to one of three constitutions:
Rule of the ONE (royal)
Rule of the FEW (rich)
Rule of the MANY (poor)
When a constitution of the one is ruled justly, it is a kingship. When it is ruled unjustly
is it a tyranny.
When the few rule justly is it an aristocracy, and an oligarchy when ruled unjustly.
When the many rule justly it is a polity, and when they rule unjustly it is a democracy.
BOOK 3, SECTION 9
Why is it that a state is unjust when only the interests of the rulers are taken into account?
When the master only takes his interests into account, the slave is also supposed to benefit,
according to Aristotle. Why is this not the case in the polis?
“But a state exists for the sake of a good life, and not for the sake of life only: if life
only were the object, slaves and brute animals might form a state, but they
cannot, for they have no share in happiness or in a life of free choice.”
The state is essentially a moral institution, created to ensure the nurturing of virtues and
protection from vices.
“Whereas, those who care for good government take into consideration virtue and
vice in states…The end of the state is the good life, and these [material things] are
the means towards it. And the state is the union of families and villages in a
perfect and self-sufficing life, by which we mean a happy and honorable life.”
TOMORROW
Apply and evaluate Aristotle
Which of his arguments or ideas are pretty good?
Is Aristotle relevant to us in SA today?
Which of his ideas and arguments are untenable?
We’ll also start with Hobbes’ political philosophy
Book 1, Ch 14-16