Aristotle’s Practical Philosophy: On the Relationship between His Ethics and Politics

Description

This book is the first collection of essays in English devoted solely to the relationship between Aristotle’s ethics and politics. Are ethics and politics two separate spheres of action or are they unified? Those who support the unity-thesis emphasize the centrality for Aristotle of questions about the good life and the common good as the purpose of politics. Those who defend the separation-thesis stress Aristotle’s sense of realism in understanding the need for political solutions to human shortcomings. But is this all there is to it? The contributors to this volume explore and develop different arguments and interpretative frameworks that help to make sense of the relationship between Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics. The chapters loosely follow the order of the Nicomachean Ethics in examining topics such as political science, statesmanship and magnanimity, justice, practical wisdom, friendship, and the relationship between the active and the contemplative life. They have in common an appreciation of the relevance of Aristotle’s writings, which offer the modern reader distinct philosophical perspectives on the relationship between ethics and politics. Front Matter ....Pages i-vi Introduction (Emma Cohen de Lara, René Brouwer)....Pages 1-11 Aristotle’s Politics: Ethical Politics or Political Realism? (Emma Cohen de Lara)....Pages 13-33 Aristotle’s Politikos: Statesmanship, Magnanimity, and the Rule of the Many (Patrick Overeem)....Pages 35-49 Justice in Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics (René Brouwer)....Pages 51-64 A Distinction with a Difference: Aristotle’s Division of Particular Justice and Its Practical Significance (Andrei Poama)....Pages 65-91 Is Human Virtue a Civic Virtue? A Reading of Aristotle’s Politics 3.4 (L. K. Gustin Law)....Pages 93-118 Between Friendship and Self-sufficiency. The Possibility of “Human Flourishing” in the Relationship Between Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics: A Multifocal Approach (Arianna Fermani)....Pages 119-127 Perfect Friendship in the Political Realm. A Philosophical Trait-d’Union between the Nicomachean Ethics and Politics (Elena Irrera)....Pages 129-155 How Political Are Virtue and Happiness? (Micah Lott)....Pages 157-169 A Political Interpretation of Aristotle’s Ethics (Brian J. Collins)....Pages 171-186 Back Matter ....Pages 187-194