Phronesis · 1987 · 110 citations · 0 references
Thomas HobbesPolitical TheoryFundamental TheoremsBasic IssuesPolitical CommunityPolitical SystemPolitical PhysiologyHistory Of LogicPolitical ScienceSocial Sciences
Aristotle and Hobbes differ on whether the political community is a natural entity or a human-made construct. The author argues that Aristotle’s view of the polis as natural is mistaken and should be reinterpreted as an artifact of practical reason, revealing a fundamental flaw in his political theory. The argument is illustrated by analyzing Aristotle’s portrayal of statesmen and lawgivers as craftsmen in Politics VII:2.
One of the basic issues between Aristotle and Thomas Hobbes in political philosophy concerns the nature of the political community. Aristotle maintains that the political community, or the polis, is a natural entity like an animal or a man. ' For Hobbes, on the other hand, the political community is entirely a product of art. Now, I claim that Aristotle ought to agree with Hobbes, that according to Aristotle's own principles the political community is an artifact of the practical reason, not a product of nature, and that, consequently, there is a blunder at the very root of Aristotle's political philosophy. Consider, for example, Aristotle's idea that a statesman and a lawgiver is a sort of craftsman, the idea of the following passage from Politics VII:2