Aristotle on political community / David J. Riesbeck, Rice University, Houston.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Riesbeck, David J., 1980- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aristotle--Political and social views.

Aristotle.

Aristotle. Politics.

Kings and rulers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 322 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Summary:

Aristotle's claims that 'man is a political animal' and that political community 'exists for the sake of living well' have frequently been celebrated by thinkers of divergent political persuasions. The details of his political philosophy, however, have often been regarded as outmoded, contradictory, or pernicious. This book takes on the major problems that arise in attempting to understand how the central pieces of Aristotle's political thought fit together: can a conception of politics that seems fundamentally inclusive and egalitarian be reconciled with a vision of justice that seems uncompromisingly hierarchical and authoritarian? Riesbeck argues that Aristotle's ideas about the distinctive nature and value of political community, political authority, and political participation are coherent and consistent with his aristocratic standards of justice. The result is a theory that, while not free of problems, remains a potentially fruitful resource for contemporary thinking about the persistent problems of political life.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Title page; Copyright information; Dedication; Table of contents; Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Introduction: Community and Exclusion; Chapter 1 Paradoxes of Monarchy; 1. Aristotle's Defense of Kingship; 2. Normative and Conceptual Problems of Monarchy; Chapter 2 Community, Friendship, and Justice; 1. The Idea of Community; 2. Community, Distribution, and Exchange; 3. Community and Friendship; 4. The Varieties of Friendship; 5. Wishing for the Good of the Friend; 6. The Coextensiveness of Community, Justice, and Friendship; 7. Community and Justice

8. Justice and FriendshipChapter 3 From the Household to the City; 1. The Household as a Community; 2. The Village as a Community; 3. Self-Sufficiency and Living Well; 4. Law, Justice, and Self-Sufficiency; 5. Varieties of Self-Sufficiency; 6. Living and Living Well; Chapter 4 Rule and Justice in the Household and the City; 1. Ruling; 2. Forms of Rule in the Household; 3. Political Rule; 4. The Good of Political Rule; 5. The Justice of Ruling and Being Ruled; Chapter 5 Citizenship, Constitutions, and Political Justice; 1. Citizens and Constitutions: Problems and Proposed Solutions

2. Aristotle's Rejection of "Second-Class Citizens"3. Citizens and the Scope of the Common Good; 4. Justice and the Principle of Nondespotic Rule; 5. Citizenship and Degrees of Authority; 6. Citizenship and the Ruling Body; 7. Degrees of What?; 8. Justice and the Distribution of Citizenship; Chapter 6 Kingship as Political Rule and Political Community; 1. Kingship, Tyranny, and the Consent of the Ruled; 2. Ruling and Being Ruled in Turn; 3. Kingship and the Rule of Law; 4. Incomparable Virtue; 5. Kingship and the Household; 6. Kingship's Positive and Negative Critical Functions

7. Aristotelian Kingship and Platonic Political KnowledgeConclusion: Ruling and Being Ruled; References; Index; Index Locorum

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 08 Aug 2016).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-316-71893-X

1-316-72253-8

1-316-72313-5

1-316-72373-9

1-316-72613-4

1-316-72433-6

1-316-72553-7

1-316-22742-1