Assignment on Aristotle

Question: Why did Aristotle excoriate Plato’s Republic in the Politics?

Aristotle regards Plato as the target of his criticism for the purpose of examination. The purpose of Aristotle in Politics is to ‘consider what form of political community is best of all for those who are most able to realize their ideal of life’ (Aristotle, The politics and The constitution of Athens, ed. Stephen Everson (Cambridge, 1996), 1260b27). The scope of the examination includes not only existing constitutions at that time but also ‘theoretical forms which are held in esteem’ (ibid, 1260b30). The Republic of Plato belongs to the latter. Plato was Aristotle’s teacher, and Aristotle spent many years of intellectual growth in Plato’s school. Therefore, it is natural that Republic is in part held in esteem by Aristotle. It is necessary to examine and challenge Plato’s theory.

Aristotle criticizes Plato because they have a different understanding of the nature of the state. Plato holds that the nature of the state is to achieve justice as a unity, whereas Aristotle contends that the nature of the state is a plurality (ibid, 1261a15). Plato claims that the state is a unity. The reason why Plato raises this claim is that he intends to draw an analogy between the soul of an individual and the state (Plato, Republic, ed. Christopher Rowe (London, 2012), 368e). According to Plato, the soul of an individual is a unity consisting of three parts. An individual aiming at justice should try to keep the three parts of the soul in harmony and let reason reign over the rest. Therefore, according to the analogy, the state aiming at justice should also pursue harmony and unity. In this way, the state can achieve happiness as a whole. However, Aristotle does not share this analogy, and the focus of his examination is not on the individual. What Aristotle concerns is how each citizen can achieve happiness. Aristotle argues that only if all citizens in the state are happy, the state can be happy. He claims that ‘the whole cannot be happy unless most, or all, or some of its parts enjoy happiness’ (Aristotle, The politics and The constitution of Athens, ed. Stephen Everson (Cambridge, 1996), 1264b15). In terms of each citizen, people are different in many ways. They have different interests and different measures to achieve excellence. Therefore, Aristotle contends that the nature of the state is a plurality.

Another explanation for Aristotle’s opposition to Plato is that he places more emphasis on the practicability of political ideals. Aristotle criticizes the impracticability of Plato’s ideal many times and tests many political measures because he holds that ‘the difficulty is not in imagining but in carrying them out’ (ibid, 1331b20). Practicability is a very important difference between Aristotle and Plato. In line with this, Aristotle criticizes the policy of community of wives, children, and property. However, practicability might not be the priority for Plato. What Plato primarily concerns is the acquisition of the truth of justice. For Plato, it would be better if the Republic is achieved in reality. Nevertheless, even if that is impossible, the impracticability does not bother Plato, because knowledge is the most important.