Aristotle

 Political Idealism Comes From Plato; And From Aristotle Comes Political Realism.   On This Basis, It Is Easy To Understand The Comment Of The Poet Coleridge, That Everyone Is Born Either A Platonist Or An Aristotelian.  

The Difference Between Plato And Aristotle Is The Difference Between Philosophy And Science.   Plato Was The Father Of Political Philosophy; Aristotle, The Father Of Political Science; The First Is A Philosopher, The Second Is A Scientist; Fol.  Mer Follows The Deductive Method; The Latter, An Inductive One.   Plato Portray An Unrealistic Utopia, The Ideal State, Whereas Aristotle Was Concerned With The Best Possible State.  

Aristotle's Views On The State: Aristotle Criticized Plato's State As An Artificial Creation, Which Was Constructed Sequentially In Three Phases, With The Creators Coming First And Then The Assistants And The Rulers.   As An Architect, Plato Built The State. 

  Aristotle, On The Contrary, Considered The State To Be A Natural Organization, The Result Of Growth And Development.   He Says That If Many Forms Of Society Were Natural Before Society, So Were The Natural States.   Along With Plato, Aristotle Recognizes The Importance Of The State To The Individual, And, Like Plato, Regards The State As A Human Organism, But Unlike Him, He Does Not Regard The State As A Unity.   For Aristotle, The State Was Unity In Diversity.  

Aristotle's Political Thoughts :

Theory Of Justice: Like His Teacher Plato, Aristotle Regarded Justice As The Breath Of State Politics.   According To Him, Justice Is The Embodiment Of Virtue, Perfect Virtue And All Good.   It Is Not The Same As Guna, But It Is Quality, And Action Has Quality.  

Justice Is Virtue, But It Is More Than Virtue; It Is Virtue In Action, That Is, Virtue In Practice.   Reason, For Example, Is A Virtue, But Fair/Rational Conduct Is Justice; Truth Is A Virtue, But Being Truthful Is Justice.  

A Person Seeking Spatial Justice Is One Who Follows The Laws But Does Not Demand More From The Society Than What He Is Entitled To.   There Are Two Types Of Special Justice: Distributive And Corrective.   For Aristotle, Distributive Justice Accords Respect And Rewards According To The Merits Of The Recipients, Treated Equally And Unequally, Unequally.   Corrective Justice Does Not Take Any Account Of The Position Of The Parties Concerned.   But Safeguards The Equality Between The Two By Removing From The Advantage Of One And Adding To The Disadvantage Of The Other, By Giving Justice To The Denyer, And Punishing The One Who Deprives The Others Of Their Justice .  

 Compare The Notion Of Justice Given By Plato And Aristotle:

I) For Plato, Justice Is The Performance Of One's Duties To The Best Of His Abilities And Capabilities; For Aristotle, Justice Is The Reward In The Proposition That One Contributes;

Ii) Plato's Justice Deals With 'duties'; It Is Duty Oriented Whereas Aristotle's Justice Deals With 'rights'; It Is Oriented Right;

Iii) Plato's Theory Of Justice Is Essentially Moral And Philosophical; Aristotle's Law Is;

 Iv) Both Had The Concept Of Distributive Justice.   For Plato, It Meant Personal Excellence And The Performance Of One's Duties, While For Aristotle It Meant The Right To Achieve What People Deserved.  

 V) Plato's Justice Is Spiritual While Aristotle, Practical, I.  E.  , It Is Virtue In Action, Good In Practice,

Vi) Plato's Justice Relates To One's Inner Self, That Is, That Which Comes Directly From The Soul; Aristotle's Justice Is Concerned With The Actions Of Man, That Is, With His External Activities .  

The Property, Family And Slavery: 

Aristotle's Theory Of Property Is Based On Plato's Critique Of Communism Of Property.   Plato Regarded Property As An Obstacle To The Proper Functioning Of The State And, Therefore, Suggested Communism For The Parent Class.   But For Aristotle, Property Provided Psychological Satisfaction By Fulfilling The Human Instinct For Possession And Ownership.   His Main Complaint Against Plato Was That He Failed To Balance The Claims Of Production And Distribution.   The Communism Of Plato's Wealth, Those Who Produce Do Not Get The Reward Of Their Efforts, And Those Who Do Not (Ruler And Helper) Get All The Pleasures Of Life.  

 Therefore, His Conclusion Is That Wealth Eventually Leads To Conflict And Conflict.   He Was Of The Opinion That Wealth Is Necessary For The Creator And For That Matter Necessary.  

 With Regard To Property Ownership, Aristotle Said:

(I) Personal Ownership, And Personal Use, Which Is The Most Dangerous Situation For Aristotle;

(Ii) Common Ownership, And Personal Use, A Condition That May Have Begun With Socialism, But Would End In Capitalism; This Is Also Not Acceptable;

(Iii) Common Ownership And Common Use, An Instrument That Is Always Impractical;

(Iv) Individually Owned And Common Use, Generally Possible And Equally Acceptable Equipment.   Aristotle Says: "Property Should Be In Common And In Principal Private, But Common In Use. "

According To Aristotle, A Family Consists Of Husband, Wife, Children, Slaves And Property.   It Includes Three Types Of Relationship: That Of Master And Slave, Matrimonial (Between Husband And Wife) And Parental (Between Father And Child).   The Thigh Master, Aristotle Held, Rules The Slavs; The Husband Rules Over The Wife (Aristotle Regards Women As Inferior To Men, An Incomplete Man), And The Father Rules Over The Son.  

 With His Belief In Patriarchy, Aristotle Wanted To Keep Women Within The Four Walls Of The House, Which Was Only Good For Domestic Work And Breeding For Nurturing The Species.   For Him, The Man Is The Head Of The Tlic Family.   Similarly, Aristotle Affirmed That Man Is Superior To Woman, Wiser Than Slave And More Experienced Than Children.  

Slavery: Aristotle Justified Slavery, Which Was Actually The System At That Time.   He Writes: "For Him To Rule Some And Rule Over Others It Is Not Only Necessary, But Expedient;

Slavery Is Not Natural, It Is Also Necessary.