Friday, May 31, 2019
aristotle :: essays research papers
Analytical Paper 3 Book 7, Ch. 4 AristotleIn this chapter it is Aristotles goal to explain the ideal size of a city-state, and the ripe multitude of people to inhabit that city-state. Aristotle argues most people suppose that a happy city-state must be a great one (line 7). This thought is wrong, he concludes, claiming that it is not the number of inhabitants that makes a city-state great, but its ability. For a city-state has a task to perform, so that the city-state that is best able to complete it is the one that should be considered superlative (line 13).Aristotles second claim is that in order to have an ideal city-state, one must have the ideal inhabitants within that city-state. Typically, in large city-states a great number of the inhabitants are slaves, resident aliens, and foreigners, this makes for a densely populated city-state. The great city-states are the ones who have the most people that are a violate of it. Meaning a city-state in which a majority of its inhabit ants are involved in the daily activities and governing of the city-state. Aristotle continues by stating from the facts at least it is difficult, perhaps impossible, for an excessively populated city-state to be well governed (line 25). He argues that law is a kind of organization, and thus for a government to be a good government it must be well organized. Trying to organize a large city-state is impossible, it is a task for a divine power, therefore, a city-states population must be restricted. The size of a city-state, like everything else, has a certain scale animals, plants and tools. For when each of them is neither too small nor too excessively large, it will have its have proper capacity (line 35). Aristotle then relates it to a ship. One that is too small is not a formidable ship. Yet one that is too large is excessively not worthy of being called a ship. The ship will sail badly if it is too small or too large, and so it is with city-states, one that has too few peop le is not self-sufficient, yet, one that consists of too many, is not ideal, because it is too hard to govern.
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