Man A Political Animal Copy 2
Man A Political Animal Copy 2
Man A Political Animal Copy 2
Author(s): R. G. Mulgan
Source: Hermes, 102. Bd., H. 3 (1974), pp. 438-445
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4475868
Accessed: 05-08-2018 18:26 UTC
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms
Franz Steiner Verlag is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Hermes
This content downloaded from 103.27.9.249 on Sun, 05 Aug 2018 18:26:19 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
ARISTOTLE'S DOCTRINE THAT MAN IS A POLITICAL ANIMAL
II
In the first place it is often forgotten that Aristotle uses the phrase 7tOXtLx6V
Ccoov of animals other than man. In the first chapter of Book A of the Hi-
storia Animalium, probably the earliest of the zoological works, Aristotle
introduces a large number of distinctions between different types of animals
(4xc), in the course of which he says:
(1) Ecal 8? xal TOto& 8tLcopxl xocT& t0o PLou4 xacl T&oq 7rp&L. TM JeV
yap OUTC)V egtLV oyeXtOC Ta V a C ovaLXoX, Xocl 7reoc XxoLl 7TtVA XOCL 7TXO,
Ta 6' L=(pgOTOpL. XOa TG)V &yeXOWcOv XXL tCV [4OvX3C&Z-V Ta VL'V 7rO?L'TLX0X
TX e a7OpMatoxl eatLV -y Xo X p?v o6V otov eV 1-otq MtnVo& T0 T(OV
7repLTrpet)V y6voq XOCL yep' o4 xo I X6XvO (ya 6 vuyov a, ou'Kv &yexa?0ov),
xOCL TCV rXIrCTOV roc YzVI TCV ZO6UoV, OtoV OU5 xoc?05cn 3a[aq,
OUVVOL, 7XMLU e5, lOLX O a &V0pO)70 O?tpLL4t. nOtLXtX a rTLV
6)V ?V Tt xaL XOLVOV yl'V tO(5 7sXavr)V To Spyov, o0rp OU MMX=T 7tLeL T-
&yeXO?Zx. &atL K TOL0'7tOV &vOp(o0r0, XLTTOC, FCP', UpVT,i, yepchvo0.
xXc to6tov T&V 4iv vp r1y?6ova Mr- Td o& v'px c olov yepocvo0 0v xoa
TO T&@v ,UtrTiv yevoq ip' 'gy6Ov%C, VUpll7X? c xc wpu &% &oc avapXoc.
(HA 487 b 33-488 a I3).
Two separate distinctions are made in this passage: firstly between those
animals which are 'gregarious' (&ye?a Z) and those which are 'solitary'
(toviatzok); secondly between those which are 'political' (7r0?,tLx0 ) and those
which are 'scattered' (caropoc8&x0). In terms of the former, man is both gre-
garious and solitary (he 'dualizes' in PECK's apt translation of the technical
term potrpLL). This is consistent with Aristotle's conclusion in Nico-
machean Ethics K2 that the good life for man consists partly in philosophical
contemplation which can be carried on quite independently of other people,
and partly in the exercise of social virtues which can only be exercised in the
company of others. With respect to the second distinction, man is 7rokLVLX6v.
7roXLcLxM& ~Cpc are a sub-group of the gregarious animals (or, strictly speaking,
This content downloaded from 103.27.9.249 on Sun, 05 Aug 2018 18:26:19 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
R. G. MULGAN: Aristotle's Doctrine that Man is a Political Animal 439
III
We must now consider the relation between this zoological sense of 7ro?Lrtxo'v
4,ov and the description of man as 7roXvLtx6v in the works solely concerned
with human beings, that is the Eudemian and Nicomachean Ethics and the
3 This is the implication of 488 a io, 67rep OR 7r&vTO 7r0LIL 0C& &Tyekoco. Most modern
editors (e. g. DITTMEYER, THOMPSON, PECK) follow SCHNEIDER in deleting xac tr6v ,ovocaxmv
in 488 a 2 on the grounds that Vovoc8x& can never be 7roXLTtxac. But this is unnecessary.
The example of man shows at least that an animal which is partly oLvICxo&6V can be 7rOkLz6v.
Moreover, if we take the distinction between 7roMt6xOC and 7rtopAmcLx to apply only to
&y-kcaZa, it is even more difficult to understand the force of a7ropa8Lx&. Meaning literally
'scattered', antopocax6q is elsewhere contrasted with &yE? ZoZ (Pol. 1256 a 23, cf. HA 6I7 b
2I). It is therefore more likely that Aristotle meant the 7oXtOLxT / a7sropIcamx distinction
to apply to all animals, whether &ye)cxtca or lzovMa8Lxx, though in fact no fully poOvICLx6v
animal was 7o?,LTLx6v. Thus the a7topx8&x would include all fully pLoVocaLxci who are much
more plausibly described as 'scattered', as well as some of the &ysXoci.
' Cf. Plato, Phaedo 82 b 5-8: "O'L TO&Tou; ?6XO &aTLV CEg TOL0UTOV 7ICM V OII?PLXVeLaOOCL
7rO)XTLX6'V XaLi 'fLepOV yiVOc, 7 7OU [LeXVTt7)V iT aCPCV e 1.P[pX(OV, xOl rt5 TOCU76V Yl 7t&tv
T6 O pC6O 7rLVOV ykvo4, xOc yEyv1aCOOL 6i OCU'T4v &vWpCq Fxc PL.OUlo.
5 E. g. PECK, THOMPSON, (J. A. SMITH and W. D. Ross [edd.], The Works of Aristotle
Translated into English, Vol. IV, Oxford, igio); cf. P. LouIs (ed.), Aristote Histoire des
Animaux, Paris, I964 (Bude).
6 488 a I I-3.
This content downloaded from 103.27.9.249 on Sun, 05 Aug 2018 18:26:19 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
440 R. G. MULGAN
Politics 8. We will examine all the passages in the ethical and political writtings
in which man is described as 7toXtrLx6v, leaving the best known but also most
difficult passage (Politics I253 a I-29) till last.
In Book H of the Eudemian Ethics, in a discussion of the different sorts
of justice found in different types of friendship, Aristotle says:
(2) -rT6 re yocp 8'MoXL6V IaTL XOL XOLV6)VOLq, XoCd 0 pXOGq XOLVCO)Vo6, O tV Y9vovq,
6o ae ,Bou. o y&'p cvOpCorno oiu ,6voV 7nOXVLTXOV oc?Xoc OIXOVO,uLXoV Crov,
Here he distinguishes between the r'6XL4 and the o5xLoc and describes
man's need for these two associations by the adjectives noXtl-x6v and
otxovo,uLx6v. Thus the description of man as a 7roXLrLxov ~Cpov in this passage
means that he is literally a '-)'Xtq-animal' in contrast to his membership of
other associations such as the household. A similar contrast is found in a
passage from the Nicomachean Ethics, again in the discussion of friendship.
Here, again, we have the same implication that the political nature of man
refers to his need for the city state rather than for other types of association.
There are two further instances of the term no?LtLxoV (%iOov) in the Nico-
macheant Ethics, in both of which the meaning seems to be significantly dif-
ferent from the ones we have just discussed. In Book I, in reply to the question
whether the happy man will need friends, Aristotle says:
(4) ou'Mq y'p o0L-' aXv XOC' auYrov k 7okvr' 'Xev ocyoOoc 7COXL0LXov yap 6
OCVOpG)7COq XOCGUg( 11V 69b1UX7-9.
This content downloaded from 103.27.9.249 on Sun, 05 Aug 2018 18:26:19 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Aristotle's Doctrine that Man is a Political Animal 44I
(5) -ro ' -UrapxCs, x6yo0?v o'Ux ocu-,c t6vc,, rij ~Cvrt f3LOV OV6T-qv, &X?
xol yoveu5L XOCA r?XVoL xal ylUvcVxL XOCL 6X)4 ro-q (pLAo4q Xa(l 7LtrOC4ta,
e7reL84 CpE$aCL 7C0XVtLX6V O &vOpC07or.
(EN I097 b 8-I2).
(6 ) etp410Cl Zaa'xxk 10Vgq 7rpG',ou Xo'youq, ?'V o'Lq 7ep'L olxovoLdf. aut)pL04
xocl G7r'O-L0C, xO' btL Cpu6aet bv 'ea'rrtV vOpCtoC ~46ov 7O?LXT&X'V. aLO
XCXO p) ae 6 ?VOL q 7Xp& M&XX~Xwv P07)0eL0C oVx SXoc'Tov 6peyovIat
This content downloaded from 103.27.9.249 on Sun, 05 Aug 2018 18:26:19 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
442 R. G. MULGAN
(*V,v ) and he requires the rr6XL; for the full satisfaction of his need.
The final and most important passage occurs in Book A, chapter 2 of the
Politics. Aristotle's purpose, in this complex chapter, is to prove that the 7Zt?lq
is natural. He begins by tracing the origin of the nr6)XM back to certain innate
impulses in men, namely the need for sexual relations and for the relationship
of ruler and ruled, which between them give rise to the household (oLxLx).
In order to satisfy further needs a collection of households forms a village
(*4t) and then a collection of villages forms a n6XGL. Furthermore, the 16?
is natural, because it is the end of human development, a self-sufficient asso-
ciation providing the good life for men.
otov y&p exact6v earL -rCi YeV6a@o aOeqaN, taQV (pa ocv t v
pV6LV siVot &X&a'Tou, (R)6trp &vOpcsou trtcou oLxtoc,. ?&; Tz O?iz VrX0 xal
(7) ?X TOVJ)cV 0oV (pXvZp6v 6"tL Tiv (piaL T r6?xtq eTL , XOCL OTL 0 &VOPCorno
(I253 a I-2).
The term noX.L'Xo'v Ccov is here clearly used in the inclusive sense. The
Jr6XLq embraces all the lesser associations in a self-sufficient unit, and man is
naturally 7ZO?LtL%O6v because this unit is the one in which his nature finds its
perfect development.
A few lines later on, however, Aristotle shows that he has not altogether
forgotten the zoological sense of the phrase as defined in the HistoriaAnimalium.
After quoting Homer (and slightly misinterpreting him"1) on the evils of the
man who is OtCcpp7'jp, &0kL4G-ao, dcvearLo4 and saying that he is &vui cv
oaD=Pp Cv 7?ToZq, he concludes,
(8) &6'L ae TCO?,XLLXOV o &vOp(orno 4ov 7r&aOY [LOAT11% xaL 7CoVrO OCyexcou
C4ou LOauOV, a4kov.
(I235 a 7-9).
The use of the term &yeXocZoq and mention of the bee which is one of the
7rO?\LCxO&C C@O given in HA suggest that this sentence is a clear reference to the
This content downloaded from 103.27.9.249 on Sun, 05 Aug 2018 18:26:19 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Aristotle's Doctrine that Man is a Political Animal 443
he says that man is 7roXLrLxOV ... 4pOV . . . [EXXov. The word [aEXXoV can
mean either 'more than' or 'rather than'. That is, Aristotle could either be
saying that man, rather than other animals, is 7roXLrLx6v, thus implying that,
for his present purposes at any rate, man is the only 7roXLLxOv 4x,ov; or he
could mean that man is more 7ro?LTLx6v than other animals, with the impli-
cation that other animals are noMroxk but that man is nroLx6v to a greater
degree. If we take the former interpretation, it allows us to say that Aristotle
by claiming that only man is 7ro?XLLx6v, is using 7roXLrLx6v in the sense of
'belonging to the 7r6XL4'. If, however, we take the latter, it follows that a
wider sense must be understood because animals other than man are being
referred to as wTo4Xvx&. It is tempting to adopt the former interpretation,
taking ,uaXXov as 'rather than', with the implication that man is the only
political animal12. This would be consistent with the use of the phrase a few
lines above meaning '7r6XLq-animal', a meaning which can apply only to man
and not to other animals, and also with all the other instances that we have
discussed in the ethical and political writings. This interpretation, however, is
an unlikely one for several reasons.
Firstly, if Aristotle were saying that man is a political animal rather than
any bee or other gregarious animal, he would be expressly disagreeing with the
zoological definition. It would be untypical of his usual method to go out of
his way flatly to contradict a statement from another work on another sub-
ject. Such cross references are usually made for the sake of consistency and
corroboration.
Secondly, we have seen that elsewhere Aristotle uses the doctrine that
man is a 7roL'LxOv 4X,ov in an inclusive sense to prove not only that man
must live specifically in the 7r6XLq but also that he must live with other people
and not on his own. Though this inclusive sense of 7O?LtLXOV still involves,
as we saw, the literal sense of wotXLq Aristotle's use of it in connection with
man's need for social life in general provides a parallel with the zoological
definition and suggests that this sense of the phrase may have been present
in Aristotle's mind when he applied it to human beings.
12 *Moreover, life in a 7r6XLq is also part of the 'normal nature' of man, distinguishing
him from beasts, none of which, however gregarious or industrious, they may be, can
reasonably be called 6ov noXLtLx6v 4, T. A. SINCLAIR, A History of Greek Political Thought,
London, I951, P. 2I4.
This content downloaded from 103.27.9.249 on Sun, 05 Aug 2018 18:26:19 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
444 R. G. MULGAN
(I253 a 9-I8).
This content downloaded from 103.27.9.249 on Sun, 05 Aug 2018 18:26:19 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Aristotle's Doctrine that Man is a Political Animal 445
IV
14 An earlier version of this article was read at the New Zealand Universities Classics
Conference held in Wellington in May I97I. The author is grateful to those present for
several helpful comments and suggestions.
Hermes 102,3 29
This content downloaded from 103.27.9.249 on Sun, 05 Aug 2018 18:26:19 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms