Citizens, Slaves, and Foreigners: Aristotle on Human Nature

Abstract

To most readers, Aristotle's many references to nature throughout the first book of thePoliticsimply a foundational role for nature outside and prior to politics. Aristotle, they claim, pairs nature with necessity and, thus, sets nature as a standard that fixes the boundaries of inclusion and exclusion in political life. Through readings of Aristotle on the nature of citizens, slaves, and foreigners in thePolitics, this essay argues, in contrast, that, to Aristotle, nature, especially human nature, is changeable and shaped by politics. Through an analysis of Aristotle's philosophical and scientific treatments of nature in theMetaphysicsandPhysics, this essay demonstrates that in order to preserve what he takes to be characteristic and also constitutive of a distinctively human way of living—prohaireticactivity—Aristotle is especially keen to guard against any assimilation of nature to necessity.

The ‘reach’ of employee participation in decision‐making: exploring theAristotelian roots of workplace democracy

“…The extent to which women and slaves are thought by Aristotle to be naturally inferior is the subject of much debate. Frank () provides a sedulous argument that the conventional reading of Aristotle on ‘human nature’ is wrong, and that nature is shaped by, and shapes, politics. But that has not prevented commentators like MacIntyre (; ; see also Knight, ) from pointing out that Aristotle's moral philosophy at times appears, ironically, to be lacking in morals.…”

“…The present study adds value primarily to the political science and HRM strands. With respect to political science, it examines the politics of employee PDM in the light of the Aristotelian concept of citizenship (Johnson, ; Frank, ; Collins, ). In order to carry out this unique analysis, an imperfect metaphor is drawn between the politics of the state and the politics of the organisation (McMahon, ).…”

Between Polis and Empire: Aristotle's Politics

“…We might wish to pause before concluding that the meteorological passages simply represent a condensed version of Aristotle's Hellenocentric Greek supremacist desires. After all, we do have credible arguments that challenge this view by emphasizing Aristotle's concept of the potentialities (capacities) that all humans, whatever their environments or locations, possess for action and deliberation, simply by virtue of being human (Frank 2004; Yack 1993). 38 Insofar as I have already suggested that we have good reason to complicate the one-sided notion of Aristotle as an exemplar of a chauvinistic citizen of a Greek city-state, there might be further reason to suspend, if only for a moment, the urge to read the meteorological passages as nothing more than a dismaying demonstration of “Hellenic hauteur ” (Davis 1981, 32).…”

Political Justice: Levinas Contra Aristotle

“…14 (MacIntyre 2007, p. 173). 15 For more on this question, see (Fagenblat 2010), especially Chapter Three. 16 Minima Moralia, p. 130.…”