The Political Animal—Politics 1–2

Since Aristotle himself, at the end of the Nicomachean Ethics, makes the case for turning from the analysis of character to political life, we will follow his lead by turning from the Ethics to the Politics. This lecture will comprise three main parts: First, an examination of the case for precisely this turn to the examination of political life; second, a sketch of Aristotle’s famous but also complex argument in the first book of the Politics, that human beings are “political animals” by nature; and third, a consideration of Aristotle’s Politics, Book II, where his critique of various regimes have claimed to be the best, regimes both actual and imagined, including the regime of Plato’s Republic.

English
  • Runtime 30 minutes
  • Production Company The Great Courses
  • Created May 20, 2022 by
    shunsuke218
  • Modified May 20, 2022 by
    shunsuke218