Reading Questions
W 29 Sep
Aristotle, Politics, I; III.1-13; IV.1-13 (pp. 1-25, 65-91,
101-24)
1) Slavery
What are Aristotle's views on slavery? How does he defend it? Are his
arguments the same as those we might expect from Thrasymachus? How do
these
ideas on slavery fit in with his other ideas about citizenship,
constitutions,
etc.?
2) Citizenship
What is Aristotle's conception of citizenship? How is it like/unlike
our
own? How is the goodness of the citizen related to the goodness of the polis?
Compare
this to Plato's ideas about the connection between the
condition
of the polis and the condition of its parts.
3) Constitutions
How does Aristotle classify the various constitutions? How is his
classification
like/unlike Plato's? Is his conception of the "limits of politics" the
same
as Plato's? What is the relationship between justice and constitutions?
Why does he proceed in this fashion?