Introduction to Political Philosophy

Moral Excellence, Pleasure, and Community

As you read the material for the next class, keep the questions below in mind. To answer these questions you will have to reflect critically on what you have read and possibly re-read important passages. Keep in mind that there are two basic kinds of information that you need to look for in the readings.

  1. What are the main points or conclusions that an author accepts with respect to a particular issue?
  2. What are the reasons or important considerations that lead the author to accept that conclusion?

For our purposes, it is information of the latter sort (2) that will be our primary concern since our most basic task is to evaluate the reasons that are offered to support accepting one possible conclusion about an issue, rather than another. Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to speak intelligently to these issues in the next class meeting.

Reading:

  • Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books II (Chapters 1-3) and X (Chapters 1-3) (handout).
  • Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics from Stephen Everson (ed.), The Politics and the Constitution of Athens, Book X (Chapter 9), pp. 3-7.
  • Aristotle, The Politics from Stephen Everson (ed.), The Politics and the Constitution of Athens, Books VIII (Chapter 1) and I (Chapters 1-7, 12-13), pp. 195, 11-19, 27-30.

Questions:

  1. How is Aristotle both positive and critical of views that claim pleasure is the good?
  2. According to Aristotle, how are excellences (or virtues) of character obtained? What is the proper relationship of these excellences to pleasure and pain? Why is all this relevant for the lawgiver of a society? Why is education so important? For Aristotle, is the state supposed to remain neutral between the different types of life plans for its citizens?
  3. What are the two basic unions/relationships of people? What do these exist for? How do these make up larger associations of people? What are these for? How does all this lead Aristotle to conclude that “man is by nature a political animal” and that “the state is clearly prior to the family and to the individual”?
  4. What are the three relationships within the household that Aristotle considers? What natural purposes do they fulfill? Are the moral excellences of those involved the same or different?

 

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