Aristotle: Some Major Concepts

1. politeia–“regime”

           –political system

           –social mores

           –institutions

           –general culture

When Aristotle says “man is a political animal” he means that he is naturally social, inclined to develop institutions of civilization including the most advanced institution, the state (politeia).

2. telos – “end” or “goal”

 –all things exist to fulfill a certain end 

 –their end is their excellence

                      –ex. the telos of an acorn is an oak tree

–the meaning of the acorn for our understanding lies in its end

 –the teleological view sees things defined and understood by their end

                      –sees the world as having a natural order

3. eudaimonia–“happiness” 

           –human flourishing and well-being over a lifetime

           –virtue is a necessary ingredient in happiness

–external goods must also be an ingredient (we cannot be poor and be perfectly happy)*

           –can take ups and downs, but may not survive personal disaster*

4. the good life

           –self sufficient happiness

–but still social (we cannot be completely happy without exercising our political nature)

           –so the life of contemplation must be punctuated by action to live the good life*

5. virtue

           –a reasonable person who knows what is right can still choose vice*

           –so injustice is not or not necessarily a matter of ignorance*

           –all need the law*

           –all need to be habituated/conditioned to good behavior*

*Contrary to Plato