PLATO ST. THOMAS AQUINAS ARISTOTLE MACHIAVELLI
PLATO
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
ARISTOTLE
MACHIAVELLI
- A system builder – look at the polis from the outside - The truth is unchanging - Education is fundamental in shaping politics - Philosophers have no private property - Equal opportunity for women - The end of family - Rulers = philosophers - Negativity about politics (degeneration of regimes)
- Eternal law informs natural law, which informs human law - Obedience = natural; the highest moral virtue because it requires the highest sacrifice; obedience to God in all things - Disobedience in the state justified when laws don’t align with the divine law - Human nature: conscience guided by God - Good = Christianity - Virtue = the greater good for God’s sake; follow the eternal law - Blend Aristotle with Christianity - More positive view of human nature and politics - Recognized the value of political goals within a Catholic cosmology - Grace perfects nature – basis of politics now harmony instead of fear - Care as the basis of politics
- Everything aims at some good - The highest attainable good = happiness (living well and doing well, not just contemplation – Plato) - Goal of politics = best life for man - Homo sapiens = zoon politikon - Human excellence = ruling and being ruled - Humans’ best = actions - The constitution is nothing less than a way of life - Core of Justice: everyone should receive a reward proportionate to their contribution - Rotation in office - Human nature: reason + language - Final telos for man = citizenship - Polity = best practical regime - All about the golden mean: moderation - Friendship is the basis of politics (a form of love) - Virtue = the greater good, final telos, citizenship
- “No exceptions” - Practical even though cynical - Desire drives humans - The state is the “snitch” - The Office quote: fear > love - God exists but we do everything in self-regard - Good = self-interest - Things as a “means to an end” (end = stable state) - Practice cruelty in the right way - Fortuna as female: dominate her (compared to a river) - A ruler should know how to fight, according to the laws (proper to men) and according to force (proper to the beast) - Appear to have the qualities, don’t necessarily need to have them - Prince needs to be able to respond to any circumstances that present themselves - The desire deficit: can never have enough - Practical
- Myth of the Metals - The Lion, Man, and Hydra - The Regimes: aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, tyranny (cycle of degeneration) - The Ring of Gyges - The Cave - The Forms
- Human law vs. Natural Law vs. Eternal law - Human law = practical principles: law, government; how we make sense of divine laws - Natural law = basic instincts of right/wrong; the way in which we participate in divine/eternal law is imprinted onto us - Eternal law = unchanging; God’s idea of how things should be governed
- Phronesis (practical wisdom), arēte (excellence), eudaemonia (happiness) - The Sciences: contemplative (Plato), practical (moderation), productive (economics) - The Five Tasks of the Political Scientist - Types of Justice: contemplative, distributive, commutative, rectificatory - Hierarchy of associations: polis > constitution > regime - Teleology: material, formal, efficient, final - Good regimes: kingship, aristocracy, polity - Bad regimes: tyranny, oligarchy, democracy
- Cycle of Futility: Chaos > Principality > Tyranny > Aristocracy > Oligarchy > Democracy > Anarchy > Principality - Virtù + Fortuna + Necessita (the necessary consequence of being good or evil) - Principle of Renewal: state needs to renew itself - Principle of Imitation - Republicanism, citizenship - The Mixed Constitution
- Law: are philosophical and normative - Human nature: bronze, silver, gold/lion, man, hydra; negative (Ring of Gyges) - Leadership: the gold – philosophers should lead - Education: educate according to their metal; the foundation of justice – must be pervasive; replaces force as the glue of the polis - Justice is a form and order based on the highest form; real politics is a philosophical rule that aims at justice; being just
- Justice: sourced in nature; things became custom because of their utility; fear and reverence for the law - Law: divine, natural, human; ordained for the good of the political community; serves God’s plan - Human laws ordained for the good of the political community - Human nature is teleological (has purpose) and Divine Grace perfects it; majority ≠ right – something transcends us all
- Leadership - Human nature = zoon politikon - Human essence = essence (reason & language) and development (moderation is key) - Justice: contemplative, distributive, commutative (in thinking, in doing, in the production of things) - Political justice is moderation and equity - Law: ruling and being ruled; serves virtue
- Human nature: selfish, wretched - Bad human nature not necessarily bad, and no one can overcome their desires (not even philosophers) - Law: a projection of dynamic, competitive passion
- Offered tools to build a perfect model of the soul and polis - Political theory: philosophical systembuilding - Goal: a perfect structure of power/authority - The Cycle of Futility: aristocracy as the ideal polis - Can never reach the ideal polis - Tyranny = perfect injustice - Perfect injustice = appearing just but acting unjust - Perfect justice = aristocracy
- Agreed with Aristotle that every human action aims at some good - Humans have a Divine end - Law: every true law-maker cares for his community (a nurturing love) - Natural law = man’s participation in eternal law - Man is a social animal - the community completes us; politics cultivates us - Aristotle + conscience - Human nature is teleological and is perfected by Divine Grace - Used Aristotle to bring back the hope that Augustinian pessimism created - A mixed constitution is best - Platonic thought: use natural law to participate in a higher, perfect (eternal) law - True good is the common good regulated by divine justice - The good man obeys the law to serve his end as a good person – can disobey for a higher law
- Man is a political animal - Good laws make men good; serve human nature by allowing us to reach our telos - Offered tools to study the zoon politikon, its nature and development in the political association - Political theory: observation and classification of nature (an essence and process) - Growth: optimal growth of society and people - Laws make men good by habituating them to do good things - Plato’s justice will ruin a city, not preserve it
- A mixed constitution is best: pit the one, the few, and the many against each other - Foundation of a state: good laws and good armies (cannot have good laws without good armies, and where there are good armies there are good laws) - The Degradation of States: chaos > principality > tyranny > aristocracy > oligarchy > democracy > anarchy > principality - We can reach the ideal polis but we will just lose it again - Appearing just/virtuous is the most important thing – more important than being just/virtuous
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
ARISTOTLE
MACHIAVELLI
- A system builder – look at the polis from the outside - The truth is unchanging - Education is fundamental in shaping politics - Philosophers have no private property - Equal opportunity for women - The end of family - Rulers = philosophers - Negativity about politics (degeneration of regimes)
- Eternal law informs natural law, which informs human law - Obedience = natural; the highest moral virtue because it requires the highest sacrifice; obedience to God in all things - Disobedience in the state justified when laws don’t align with the divine law - Human nature: conscience guided by God - Good = Christianity - Virtue = the greater good for God’s sake; follow the eternal law - Blend Aristotle with Christianity - More positive view of human nature and politics - Recognized the value of political goals within a Catholic cosmology - Grace perfects nature – basis of politics now harmony instead of fear - Care as the basis of politics
- Everything aims at some good - The highest attainable good = happiness (living well and doing well, not just contemplation – Plato) - Goal of politics = best life for man - Homo sapiens = zoon politikon - Human excellence = ruling and being ruled - Humans’ best = actions - The constitution is nothing less than a way of life - Core of Justice: everyone should receive a reward proportionate to their contribution - Rotation in office - Human nature: reason + language - Final telos for man = citizenship - Polity = best practical regime - All about the golden mean: moderation - Friendship is the basis of politics (a form of love) - Virtue = the greater good, final telos, citizenship
- “No exceptions” - Practical even though cynical - Desire drives humans - The state is the “snitch” - The Office quote: fear > love - God exists but we do everything in self-regard - Good = self-interest - Things as a “means to an end” (end = stable state) - Practice cruelty in the right way - Fortuna as female: dominate her (compared to a river) - A ruler should know how to fight, according to the laws (proper to men) and according to force (proper to the beast) - Appear to have the qualities, don’t necessarily need to have them - Prince needs to be able to respond to any circumstances that present themselves - The desire deficit: can never have enough - Practical
- Myth of the Metals - The Lion, Man, and Hydra - The Regimes: aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, tyranny (cycle of degeneration) - The Ring of Gyges - The Cave - The Forms
- Human law vs. Natural Law vs. Eternal law - Human law = practical principles: law, government; how we make sense of divine laws - Natural law = basic instincts of right/wrong; the way in which we participate in divine/eternal law is imprinted onto us - Eternal law = unchanging; God’s idea of how things should be governed
- Phronesis (practical wisdom), arēte (excellence), eudaemonia (happiness) - The Sciences: contemplative (Plato), practical (moderation), productive (economics) - The Five Tasks of the Political Scientist - Types of Justice: contemplative, distributive, commutative, rectificatory - Hierarchy of associations: polis > constitution > regime - Teleology: material, formal, efficient, final - Good regimes: kingship, aristocracy, polity - Bad regimes: tyranny, oligarchy, democracy
- Cycle of Futility: Chaos > Principality > Tyranny > Aristocracy > Oligarchy > Democracy > Anarchy > Principality - Virtù + Fortuna + Necessita (the necessary consequence of being good or evil) - Principle of Renewal: state needs to renew itself - Principle of Imitation - Republicanism, citizenship - The Mixed Constitution
- Law: are philosophical and normative - Human nature: bronze, silver, gold/lion, man, hydra; negative (Ring of Gyges) - Leadership: the gold – philosophers should lead - Education: educate according to their metal; the foundation of justice – must be pervasive; replaces force as the glue of the polis - Justice is a form and order based on the highest form; real politics is a philosophical rule that aims at justice; being just
- Justice: sourced in nature; things became custom because of their utility; fear and reverence for the law - Law: divine, natural, human; ordained for the good of the political community; serves God’s plan - Human laws ordained for the good of the political community - Human nature is teleological (has purpose) and Divine Grace perfects it; majority ≠ right – something transcends us all
- Leadership - Human nature = zoon politikon - Human essence = essence (reason & language) and development (moderation is key) - Justice: contemplative, distributive, commutative (in thinking, in doing, in the production of things) - Political justice is moderation and equity - Law: ruling and being ruled; serves virtue
- Human nature: selfish, wretched - Bad human nature not necessarily bad, and no one can overcome their desires (not even philosophers) - Law: a projection of dynamic, competitive passion
- Offered tools to build a perfect model of the soul and polis - Political theory: philosophical systembuilding - Goal: a perfect structure of power/authority - The Cycle of Futility: aristocracy as the ideal polis - Can never reach the ideal polis - Tyranny = perfect injustice - Perfect injustice = appearing just but acting unjust - Perfect justice = aristocracy
- Agreed with Aristotle that every human action aims at some good - Humans have a Divine end - Law: every true law-maker cares for his community (a nurturing love) - Natural law = man’s participation in eternal law - Man is a social animal - the community completes us; politics cultivates us - Aristotle + conscience - Human nature is teleological and is perfected by Divine Grace - Used Aristotle to bring back the hope that Augustinian pessimism created - A mixed constitution is best - Platonic thought: use natural law to participate in a higher, perfect (eternal) law - True good is the common good regulated by divine justice - The good man obeys the law to serve his end as a good person – can disobey for a higher law
- Man is a political animal - Good laws make men good; serve human nature by allowing us to reach our telos - Offered tools to study the zoon politikon, its nature and development in the political association - Political theory: observation and classification of nature (an essence and process) - Growth: optimal growth of society and people - Laws make men good by habituating them to do good things - Plato’s justice will ruin a city, not preserve it
- A mixed constitution is best: pit the one, the few, and the many against each other - Foundation of a state: good laws and good armies (cannot have good laws without good armies, and where there are good armies there are good laws) - The Degradation of States: chaos > principality > tyranny > aristocracy > oligarchy > democracy > anarchy > principality - We can reach the ideal polis but we will just lose it again - Appearing just/virtuous is the most important thing – more important than being just/virtuous
