From Protagoras to Aristotle by Segvic Heda; Burnyeat Myles; Brittain Charles

Author:Segvic, Heda; Burnyeat, Myles; Brittain, Charles
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2013-05-13T04:00:00+00:00

There follows a lengthy critique of Plato’s political philosophy.8

The only proper and fruitful procedure, from Aristotle’s point of view, is one which works its way up to a practical ideal from a reflective analysis of concrete social forms of human existence, including an analysis of the existing types of political arrangement and existing evaluative practices. This reflective analysis, if it is to be fruitful, has to involve an exercise of practical reason. For Aristotle, such an exercise always presupposes an evaluative commitment (thus the existence of certain desires), even if the deliberative virtues also demand readiness to revise such commitments. Aristotle thinks that Plato’s approach to ethics and politics—which starts from a clean slate in building the ideal city, and constructs a political and ethical ideal of life in an abstract and speculative fashion—is wrong-headed. In politics, one has to start with concrete forms of social life. This criticism, disregarding the question whether it is fair to Plato, tells us something about Aristotle’s own approach to ethics and politics.9

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