POLC70H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Nicomachean Ethics, Eudaimonia, Phronesis
Document Summary
Review of major themes in plato"s republic: we have a complex argument why justice is better than injustice, we have a theory about who should (and shouldn"t) be in a position of political ruler ship. And this is because ruling is something one can have technical expertise in: we also have a cynical political doctrine: virtue ultimately has a short shelf life and will decay. His point is that: try to prevent political change; avoid democracy. This is an example of ideal political theory. Aristotle: (384 322 b. c, student of plato, founded the lyceum. Followers of aristotle"s teachings were called peripatetic (because they walked around when they taught: foreigner in athens, tutor to the young alexander the great, the first political scientist but not just a political thinker. Why read aristotle"s politics today: enormous influence on political theory ancient, medieval, modern, contributions to legal theory natural law, constitutional engineering. Book ii, articulates his disagreement and how he separates himself from.
