Human Nature - Aristotle

Zoon Politikon

• Aristotle classifies man as a political animal
• We are naturally social and by nature are members of society, not self-interested
• We are incomplete in society- it would be impossible to survive or achieve a good life
• This is a communitarian view- your society is part of your identity
  • This contrasts with the view of an atomist, a view that believes first and foremost we are individuals, therefore we are self-interest and solely concerned with the individual

 Implications

• We have to accommodate all, as we are responsible for the others around us
• At all times we have to consult others and there would have to be a set of laws to ensure we can work together
• The important piece of evidence of our being as social creatures is language; there would be no need for it if we didn’t interact with others.

Nicomachen Ethics

• Suggests most of us crave the company of others
• No-one would be happy living in isolation
• Biologically designed to have company (Family)
• Loneliness is an undesired emotion
• Isolation is a form of punishment
• The craving is to an extent-> it varies from person to person, some need it more than others

Feral Children

• Used to support Aristotle’s claims
• These children have grown up outside of society or have had limited human interaction
• Therefore usually lack linguistic and other skills
• Genie -> at the age of 13, she had spent most of her life isolated from human contact, strapped to a potty chair or in a cot. She had virtually no language, couldn’t walk properly and constantly sniffed, spat and clawed.

• Language is evidence that we are meant to live together
  • If we were meant to live in isolation, why is there language?
• Believes nature is a force that had designed human beings and intends for us to live socially
  • From a modern scientific perspective, this is false
• However, language can still be used to argue for our social nature from the perspective of revolutionary biology
• From an evolutionary perspective, we evolved from a form of primate that already lived together in groups and had developed our communication skills.
  • We were social before we were human
• Those who live outside society are more like animals than humans
• Without socialisation and interaction with other people, we would lack humanity

• Only in a society that all our needs as humans can be met
• He claims that as humans we want to achieve personal happiness and flourishing (Eudemonia)
• The best way to live, is what he calls the Polis (city state)
  • This is the best state for making meeting human needs
• Only in a society that is self sufficient and large that we can develop culture, language, literature, art, music, philosophy, education and the like
• You cannot have these in smaller groups that are more vulnerable and more concerned with survival
• The individual has no independent importance
  • It’s merely a ‘building block’ to fit into the pre-existing structure of society
• “He who is unable to live in society, who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god; he has no part of a state, a social instinct is implanted in all men by nature”

• Just because it is natural to live in groups, does it mean we have a moral obligation to follow the rules of the group we live in?
• Can people only floruish within a well-developed society? Why?
• Do we always entirely conform to the values and ways of thinking of our society?
• If its true that our identity comes from society, how do we function in a multi-cultural society?
• if we are products of our envirnoment, how can we appreciate other cultures?