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date: 04 December 2020

Abstract and Keywords

Is there something like an Aristotelian political thought or philosophy? Apparently so: we have a special treatise by Aristotle that takes as its object the consideration of the city (polis)—its components, its functioning, and, most of all, the different possible forms of constitution it may have. This treatise was probably given its title, Politics, by Aristotle himself, whose political philosophy, if any, is based upon an analysis, objective as well as prescriptive, of the political reality of his day. According to Plato, at least in the Republic, there is no real political science, because there is only one science, which he calls “dialectic”, which encompasses everything. This article explores the position of politics in Aristotle's thought, the relationship between politics and theory, the family and the city, the politics of slavery, citizens and constitutions, and political science and realpolitik.

Keywords: Aristotle, political thought, political philosophy, politics, political science, Plato, city, slavery, family, constitutions

Pierre Pellegrin

Pierre Pellegrin, Directeur de Recherche au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Paris) a principalement travaillé sur la biologie d'Aristote (Aristotle's Classification of Animals: Biology and the conceptual Unity of the Aristotelian corpus, Berkeley, University of California Press: 1986) et la philosophie politique aristotélicienne. Il a traduit Les Politiques, la Physique, Les Seconds Analytiques, le De Caelo, Les Parties des Animaux en français. Il a aussi publié nombre d'articles sur le Scepticisme antique et la médecine grecque et romaine. Il a coédité avec Mary-Louise Gill A Companion to Ancient Philosophy, (Oxford: Blackwell 2006).

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