Q.12. Discuss the political philosophy of Aristotle as propounded in the "Politics".
Ans. Aristotle was a versatile genius. His knowledge was encyclopaedic. He wrote on ethics and metaphysics, art and poetry, economics and politics, physics and mathematics, psychology and medicine, astronomy and logic. He has been called "philosopher" of the ages. he is the father of realism. His most famous work, "The Politics" is a classical statement of Greek political thought. It is based on a detailed study of a number of the governments of his time. It is a justification of existing institutions like the state, slavery and family.
Plato was imaginative and poetic. He reasoned deliberately from abstract philosophical conceptions of justice and virtue. On the other hand, as Gethel has pointed out, Aristotle was practical, logical and systematic. He reasoned inductively from a comparative and scientific study of the government systems that were actually in existence.
Work of Master Intellect:
In the words of John Bowle, "Aristotle besides being a shrewd judge of character and situations is the greatest of early scientists. The "Politics" was only a small part of his writing. The "Politics" is a different book. It is a quarry of arguments and profound definitions, the thought behind them becoming apparent as the argument proceeds.
Contradictory Opinions :
To John Bowle, "The Politics" is an incomplete work. It is a heap of arguments and theories, sometimes repeated or left unfinished. Scholars have expressed almost contradictory opinions about its worth. Dr. Zeller analogies "The Republic" as the richest treasure that has come down to us from antiquity, the greatest contribution to the political philosophy that we possess. On the other hand, Dr. Taylor holds that no work of Aristotle is wquire so common place in its handling of so vast a subject.
Treatise on the art of Government:
Aristotle's "The Republic" is of great help to constitution - makers and legislators. It provides rules to construct best possible politics for securing happiness or a life of complete virtue. It is not a systematic study of political philosophy. It is rather a treatise on the art of government.
Subject matter of "The Politics"
What was the original arrange meant of the book, "The Politics" is not known. Traditionally, the eight books can be roughly divided into three groups. According to Barker these differ from each other in mattr as well as treatment.
1. Common Foundations: The first group consisting of books I, II and III can be taken to be common foundation from two different constructions independent of each other.
2. Principles of Best State: The second group of containing books VII and VIII deals with the principles underlying the best state, which any be supposed to be the first construction. Aristotle's treatment of the subject here is idealistic like Plato. His ideal state described therein resembles the sub-ideal state of Plato as portrayed in "The Law".
3. Analysis of Constitution. The third group of Books IV, V and VI constitutes the second construction. here Aristotle explained the matter of constitutions, their distinction and the changes within them. In this section he left aside ideals and dealt with the actual. His approach was quite empirical.
Two Main Divisions :
Some critics like jacgar would divide "The Politics" into two main divisions instead of three. According to them, "Politics" was written in two stages, acccording to the development of Aristotle's political thought.
1. Theories of Ideal State: The first stage, consisting of Books II, III, VII and VIII, covers the works dealing with the ideal state and with previous theories of it together with criticism of Plato. It seems to have been written not long after Aristotle's departure from Athens after Plato's death.
2. Study of Actual States: The second stage, covered by Books I, IV, V and VI relates to the work dealiing with a study of actual states, mainly democracies and oligarchies. It discusses causes of their decay and finds out means of their stability.
Contents of "The Politics"
1. Book -I: The general introduction in the book-I, opens with an inquiry into the nature of the state. Aristotle traced the origins of politics and gave his profound definition that man is a political animal. The solitary man is either a beast or a god. By the gift of speech and sense of moral values man is distinguished from the other animals.
2. Book-II: Description of the ideal State: Book-II begins with Aristotle's discussion of the ideal state. It is mainly concerned with a criticism of Plato's "The Republic". The two challenging Platonic ideals of community of property and of woman are discussed and refuted here. To quote Aristotle, "The state is made up of different kinds of men, not only of many men". "The principle of reciprocity is the salvation of states".
3. Book-III Forms of Government: The third book describes the main forms of constitution normal as well as perverted. It deals with fairly exhaustively with monarchy. Aristotle defined the state and citizenship. he said "A state is a body of citizens sufficing for the purpose of life. Aristotle's classification of states is similar to that of Plato. There are royalty, aristocracy and constitutional governments.
4. Book-IV Analysis of Constitutions: Now comes the more concrete analysis of particular constitutions and states. It forms the middles section of "The Politics". It is inserted between the more general discussions contained in the chapters which make up beginning and ending of the work. Here Aristotle abandoned the discussion of general study of institutions.
5. Book-V: Causes and Prevention of Revolution: The fifty book in "The Republic" ideals with the causes of revolutions and their preventions. According to Aristotle, infriors revolt in order that they may be equal, and equals revolt in order that they may be superior. He was fully aware of the importance of economic element introducing conflict. However, he maintained that the general causes of revolution might be found in the perverted ideas of justice.
6. Book-VI: Organisation of Democracies and Oligarchies : The Book-VI deals with the organisation of democracies and oligarchies. According to Aristotle, the best kind of democracy is agricultural, for few farmers want to bear nuisance of office. Mob democracy is the worst and finds many supporters since 'most persons would rather live in a disorderly than in a sober manner".
