Human and non-human political animals: Aristotle’s “metaphysical biology” as the basis of political animality
Antonio Oraldi
Abstract:In one of the most famous passages of the Politics, Aristotle claims that “man is a political animal” (zoon politikòn) (Pol. I.2 1253a4). Having led to countless interpretations, this formula is still a matter of contention. In this paper, some of the main interpretive strategies will be presented and evaluated. The first section will outline three major ones: the exclusive, the inclusive, and a wider, zoological one (or what might be termed as the “common ergon” interpretation). The rest of the paper will sup… Show more
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