Ebook The Death And Life of The Polis: Political Naturalism and The Natural Polis in Aristotle's Politics
Aristotle argues in Pol I.2 that the polis exists by nature. This idea is the subject of my thesis, and I shall argue that it is crucially important to understanding Aristotle's political philosophy. The claim that the polis exists by nature is what I will call the Naturalness Thesis. Aristotle argues plainly in the Physics (192b9ff.) that there are things which exist by nature. The Naturalness Thesis is the view that the polis is one of these things. Aristotle tells us (Phy II.3-6) that things not existing by nature exist by art, spontaneity, or chance. Things that exist by nature, however, are naturally generated (Phy 192b9) and Pol I.2 provides an account of the natural generation of the polis out of the village and household. Pol I.2 is the only place Aristotle ever provides an account for how the polis arises, and it is the only place the Naturalness Thesis is ever mentioned.
Contents
One: Introduction
Two: The Naturalness Thesis Within Aristotle's Political Naturalism
Introduction
Political Human Nature and the Naturalness Thesis
The Linguistic Argument and the Naturalness Thesis
The Priority Argument and the Naturalness Thesis
Conclusion
Three: The Naturalness Thesis Defended
Introduction
Aristotle's Blunder?
Keyt's Blunder
Conclusion
Four: The Naturalness Thesis Expounded
The Naturalness Thesis as Metaphor
The Sociobiology of the Natural Polis
The History of the Natural Polis
The Normativity of the Natural Polis
Conclusion
Bibliography
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