Aristotle and Democracy

Aristotle’s Life

• Born 384 B.C.E in Stagira in northern Greece (Classical Period)
• His father was a doctor, so he was introduced to Greek medicine and biology
• When his parents died, he was sent to Athens to study at Plato’s Academy
• Therefore, he could not participate politically due to his status as a foreigner
• In 343 B.C.E King Philip of Macedon requested Aristotle tutor his son, Alexander the Great, though there is little evidence of the influence
• He studied with Plato for roughly 10 years until Plato’s death
• 335 B.C.E : He returns to Athens and set up his own school, Lyceum, since he could not own property
• He became critical of Plato’s philosophical systems
• Exiting records are believed to be the notes taken by his students
• In 323 B.C.E : He fled from Athens due to resentment against Macedonians (he did not want to follow in Socrates footsteps)
• 31 surviving treatises of his work

His works:

• Politics - What constitutes good and bad governments
• Rhetoric - how strong ideas can be conveyed in a world where the best idea does not always triumph
• Nicomachean Ethics - what makes someone virtous
• Poetics - responding to Plato’s representational view of art and the value of art

Aristolte’s Philosophy

Overview

• He felt that organisms had a specific aim, the mission of humans was to achieve happiness by living virtuously

  • Given that we live and function in groups, he believed that politics were essential to this
  • Strove for social harmony where people worked together and had partnership
  • Believed in a mixed regime of different classes were balanced and the city offered rule of law
  • He encompassed a range of political thought at the time, (considered the philosopher)
  • Considered a more pragmatic thinker than Plato, and deviated from his teacher later in life

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  Believed in the three branches of Inquiry/sciences:

  • Theoretical - seeks knowledge for its own sake
  • Natural philosophy (physics)
  • Mathematics
  • Metaphysics (theory of being)
  • Practical - how to act (politics were essential to pursuit of virtue)
  • Politics
  • Ethics
  • Productive - making useful or beautiful works
  • Arts (building, medicine, music, theater, dance, ect)
  • Rhetoric
  • While Plato believed philosophy involved moving beyond world of senses, Aristotle had empirical focus and that knowledge could be derived from the senses and connection to the real world
  • He believed in first looking at how things appear, collecting and reviewing reputable opinions and systematizing them
  • He had his students study the regimes different Greek cities and used this information to support his arguments

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Nature and Purpose

• Saw hierarchy in nature, where every living thing has a direction or purpose
• He thought that form and matter were intertwined, unlike Plato who felt everythng was a representation of something that could be perfect
• Believed humans had a natural development and goal, but could be corrupted
• Humans have a capacity and potential to be something
• The “Telos” or ultimate aim and purpose of humans is to achieve happiness that was ongoing (happiness is in exercise of virtue)

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Ethics

• The study of character so we can be disposed to act virtuously

• To achieve the highest perfection, humans need to live in a polis

  • Only through political action and a practical and contemplative life that a personal can actualize
  • The goal of a political regime is to cultivate the virtue of its subjects
  • He believed only in certain type of political situations could allow human beings to achieve their full nature

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Politics

• In Politics, he describes how the polis should be organized to promote the happiness and future of its citizens
  • This was the only way that could be done
  • Believed that those who did not want to live in a society must be a beast or a God
• The Polis
  • He defines it as a political community that pursue a common good, the highest being virtue and happiness
  • It was thus seen as a common venture, a free and equally shared project
  • the purpose of the household is different, it is supposed to produce
  • Political naturalism: city-state is a natural unit of politics because human beings are meant to live with one another
  • Man is a political animal. Other animals also live in groups, but it is logos, reason and speech, is what separates man from beast
  • The city-state is not artificial, but arose naturally, which was big enough to be self-sufficient and be a properly functioning community
  • Only applies to freemen, he believed in slavery and the rule of men over women based on a different capacity for reason (women had reason but lacked authority, perhaps because they had less reason or were more driven by emotions)
  • Men and women both had Telos, but the woman’s Telos was for the household

• Levels of community

  • Individual
  • Family (Material needs)
  • Neighborhood (social)
  • Polis/city state (background)
  • The polis is the most important place in life

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Rights and the State

• Defined the citizen as someone who had the right to participate in a democratic assembly or judicial assembly (so excludes women, slaves, and foreigners)
• A citizen is someone who can participate in government (possessing exousia)
• Citizens should directly participate in the deliberation and making of laws rather than just voting for representation
• Felt that citizens should also have sufficient time to engage in politics, be economically independent, and be able to exercise judgement (heads of household who had others to care from them, ie more elite than artisans)
• He saw the issues with geography and demography
• The politeia, or constitution, should describe how a regime and its politicians should function (the offices, who would rule, and their power)

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Classes

• Most important was the middle class: they had enough to participate politically, the rich were too hedonist and the poor too needy
• Societies with strong middle classes are the most stable societies
• Golden middle road: either extreme of any scenario is almost always bad, moderation is essential
• Still believed in hierarchy (rich over poor, men over women, old over young) since there is hierarchy in nature

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Typology of Regimes

• Using the information collected in those studies, he created a typology of regimes
  • He used two criterion: who was ruling (one, a few, or many) and whether they governed in their own interest or of all citizens
  • There are six classes
• Aristotle’s typology of regimes:

• Monarchy: Moral virtues
• Aristocracy: Rulers are people of quality
• Many: Interest of Equality
• Oligarchy: Rule by the elite, meal of quality but not necessarily good qualities
• He then lists a number of varieties in each category

Government by one Government by few Government my many

Aristotle’s view of ideal government:

• Note that Aristotle thought democracy was a perverted form of government in which the poor would dominate (deviant of mod rob)
  • Freedom of the many to him meant they would not necessary act in the interest of the rule
  • His issue with power being entrusted to a small group of only virtuous people was that it did not allow everyone to reach their full potential
  • Thus oligarchy was rule by the rich, democracy is rule by the poor
• An aristocracy/polity was his preferred mode of rule
  • government by law that could be impartial (a mixture of oligarchy and monarchy)
  • the poor do not exploit the rich and the rich do not exploit the poor
  • he did not see wealth as a claim to rule, achieving happiness more important of wealth
  • Did not want a single group gaining complete control

• Types of Oligarchy

  • Plutocracy : rule by the rich
  • Kleptocracy : Those in power try to get rich
  • Genocracy : The smartest should rule
  • Sophocracy : The rise should rule
  • Nocracy : The most rational should rule
  • Timocracy : Those with honor should rule
  • Diplomocracy: The educated should rule
  • Stratocracy : Military rule
  • Kritocracy : Rule by law (by judges)
  • Technocracy : Rule by those with scientific background/non-partisan experts
  • Netocracy : Rule by those with internet knowledge
  • Bureaucracy : bureaucrats are in charge of government (civil servants)
  • Gerontrocracy : Experiences rule (the older rule)
  • Etnocracy : Rule based on ethnic group
  • Machocracy : Rule by the strong
  • Neptocracy: Rule by the family of the leader
  • Theocracy: Rule by God/gods
  • Meritocracy : Rule by the most able
  • Necrocracy : Rule by the dead

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Statesmanship :

• Believed good politicians should annoy people, politicians should not pursue singular emotions or indifference
• Rulers should be rewarded with respect and honor

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His conclusions:

• All Government Types Have a Negative Form:
  • People must pursue happiness through virtue, government/society is the vehicle through which this is achieved
  • For Aristotle, democracy is not the best form of government. Neither is the oligarchy and monarchy
  • Democracy is for and by the people named in the government type. Rule is by and for the needy.
  • Oligarchy is for and by the rich
  • Rule of law or aristocracy (literally, power [rule] of the best) or even monarchy, where the ruler has the interest of his country at heart, are better types of government.
• Best Fit to Rule:
  • Government should be by those people with enough time on their hands to pursue virtue (artisans, woman, slaves not fit for citizenry)
  • Aristotle thinks rulers and magistrates should be propertied and leisured, so, without other worries, they can invest their time in producing virtue. Laborers are too busy.
  • Their interests are not corrupted by need of wealth nor greed

Syllogism: deductive reasoning (reasoning via premises and conclusions)

Inductive: Empirical reasoning

More

Book III

• Given the appearance of the exclamatory expression “By Zeus*”* it is believed that Aristotle is referencing different perspectives and writings that he then argues with.

• He found injustice in the idea that the majority could, under a democracy, take away all the wealth of the rich

• The “By Zeus” appears, and then he writes that this is the will of the majority. “Democracy” decided this.

• Invoking Zeus is perhaps his way of saying that Democracy cannot defend itself in argument in the way it would like, when all are equal and the majority can do as it wishes

• Everything should be equal, this “By Zeus” is his writing that it is “by God” that democracy shall withstand this criticism and operate

• Different types of regimes required different types of virtue

On Democracy

Democracy: Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives

Perhaps all people are equal and votes are the same

Direct democracy : Everyone can vote on all issues/actions of government

Representative : Elected leaders decide law and actions of government

Representative:

• Populations are too large to feasibly have everyone vote
• Voters cannot negotiate, direct democracy leads to all-or-nothing outcome
• People better at politics are in charge, people that can carry out pragmatic aims

Direct Democracy

• With technology, it might be easier to have more direct votes on more issues
• Government/officials power is curbed
• Everyone involved, but slight majority rules

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Types of democracy:

• National
• Regional
• District

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Issues:

• Mediacracy : The media is the one in control because they determine voter inclination
• Dramacracy : Politics is a theater, disingenuous and a bid for attention, incentivizes irrationality or sensationalism

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