Aristotle on Human Nature: Society, Politics, and Virtue
Aristotle defines human beings as zoon politikon logikón, meaning a rational animal as well as a social or political animal. He believed that the essence of human nature and its rationality lies in sociability. Therefore, society is not contrary to nature but a development of it. By its very nature (physis), human beings have an inevitable tendency to live in society. The distinction between natural and social states is impossible in Aristotelian thought; there is no individual without society, as society is the natural environment for individual development and perfection.
The Origins of Society
The original core of the social or political community is the family, the most natural grouping of all, constituted by the wife, husband, children, slaves, and farm animals, ensuring their livelihood. Second is the village, a set of families, which arises from the advantages that numbers bring about, such as personal safety and the division of labor. Finally, there is the polis, or city-state, a Greek social ideal from before the conquest of Alexander. The polis is an autarchy, a society that is sufficient unto itself.
The Purpose of Society
The aim pursued in society is the common good; the association between human beings is not only to live but to perfect both body and soul. (According to Aristotle, man is a compound of hilemorfismo, subject, body, and soul). The common good should seek material comfort and welfare, as well as the refinement of the mind, as Socrates and Plato had claimed, through knowledge and especially the practice of virtue. Aristotle’s thinking is among the most balanced in the history of political thought.
Aristotle’s View on Governance
Facing criticism from his teacher Plato against the democratic system, Aristotle states that the assembly’s democracy—government of the people—may be a good form of government, like one-person government (monarchy) or aristocracy (government of the best). The point is that any form of government is founded on the virtue of distributive justice, which should regulate the division of property, rights, and obligations among citizens. When rulers fail to govern with justice, no longer serving the common good and seeking only their own benefit or that of their group of friends, corrupted forms are produced.
The monarchy becomes tyranny when the ruler oppresses the people with unjust laws; the aristocracy turns into oligarchy, rule by a few (oligos) who take advantage of power for their own benefit, disregarding common interests. And finally, democracy becomes demagoguery, where there is no real and genuine participation of the people in power, but representatives mislead people into believing in their freedom when it’s all a farce. Through persuasion, they allow citizens the vote and then act on their criteria and interests. Demagoguery really becomes an oligarchy disguised.
Ethics and Happiness
Aristotle’s political thought is inseparable from its ethical approach: human beings seek happiness. The city is the environment in which all citizens must be exercised in virtue, that is, according to Aristotle, excellence, the only possible way to achieve that common good, that happiness, and knowledge. To the extent that a people is more educated, they can have better criteria for choosing their leaders and replacing them if necessary.