Aristotle Flashcards
How does Aristotle reject Plato?
Placing emphasis on physical world and experience
Define teleology
The world has a rational pattern so everything has its own characteristics and potentials
Why must a species develop its characteristics?
To realise it’s essence and perform its function in nature
What is another word for community?
Koinonia - sharing , partnership
Outline his community
Each community has a shared end
Marriage - fundamental partnership
Farmer/farm hand - natural partnership (for self preservation )
Outline combining of communities
Household (male/female)
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Village
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Polis
What is eudaimonia?
flourishing
Essential to freedom and justice
It’s the end goal
How to reach eudaimonia?
Flourish
To flourish as a human is to live virtuously in ethics and intellect
Ethic virtue is courage honesty
Intellect virtue is phronesis (practical wisdom )
What is the telos of life?
The end of life is to develop virtue brought by human reason
What does the polis do?
Controls people for a purpose through fundamental community aiming at human good
Best mixture of constitutions?
Aristocracy and democracy
Wise& virtuous and the many
Issue of democracy?
Not everyone is equally fit to rule even if politically equal
Not every court should be a people’s court
What is the argument from collective wisdom?
A large group of people even if individually inferior may be superior together
EG analogy of the feast
Criticism of collective wisdom?
Adding 100000 stupid people will just get 100000 stupid views
What is the end user argument?
Experts aren’t always best, what about the end-user
Being qualified doesn’t always make them the best judge of policies working . Requires input of the many
Response to the craft analogy
What is the craft analogy?
Ruling equates crafts
Crafts tend to a certain territory with a purpose to improve the objects/products
(Eg doctor to patient )
Aristotle on equality ?
Equals treated and equals and unequal treated as unequal (best flute players given the flutes)
Outline his justice
Relates to all moral rules and ideas and proper distribution of goods
Define his freedom
A full community member has freedom
Role on education & censorship?
Education is key for intellectual virtue so direct control is needed over habitat, supervision, discipline and censorship
Views on household
Hierarchies are natural
What is a despotic hierarchy?with eg
Ruling in your interest
Eg master and slave
‘Naturally fitted to be a slave’ as lacking : full reason (that of animal and human) AND only have understanding psyche not controlling one
What is free rule hierarchy with eg?
Interest of those being ruled are pursued by ruler
Kingly - superior to inferior (father to kid)
Political - equal over equal
Eg women and children
Women have controlling psyche but lack authority so naturally inferior
What is Plato’s ideal state republic?
Forming of the good
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Philosopher kings
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Warriors
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Lover class work force
What is Plato’s ideal state person?
Form of the good
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Reason
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Courage
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Desires
What is Plato’s world of forms made of?
World of forms (mind)= invisible and; eternal ‘higher’
World of matter (body) = visible and finite ‘lower”
