Aristotle: Politics

One Comment

1. 1

   

   Michael Swanson

   January 31, 2015 at 10:14 pm

   I’ve always found this idea interesting. From book 3: “There is a point nearly allied to the preceding: Whether the virtue of a good man and a good citizen is the same or not. But, before entering on this discussion, we must certainly first obtain some general notion of the virtue of the citizen. Like the sailor, the citizen is a member of a community. Now, sailors have different functions, for one of them is a rower, another a pilot, and a third a look-out man, a fourth is described by some similar term; and while the precise definition of each individual’s virtue applies exclusively to him, there is, at the same time, a common definition applicable to them all. For they have all of them a common object, which is safety in navigation. Similarly, one citizen differs from another, but the salvation of the community is the common business of them all. This community is the constitution; the virtue of the citizen must therefore be relative to the constitution of which he is a member. If, then, there are many forms of government, it is evident that there is not one single virtue of the good citizen which is perfect virtue. But we say that the good man is he who has one single virtue which is perfect virtue. Hence it is evident that the good citizen need not of necessity possess the virtue which makes a good man.”
   Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, used the same ship analogy in his “Letter to the town of Providence. But the question which I put to my students is this. Suppose the “constitution” of the community is evil. What does the good person do under those circumstances? Does he follow his conscience or follow his constitution?

   Log in to Reply