Abstract
This doctoral thesis attempts to reconstruct the aristotelian political philosophy on the basis of the concepts of the whole and the parts. Starting points are Aristotle?s own methodical procedure of studying the polis by subdividing it into its non-composite parts (Pol. I 1, 1252a18-23) and his general position that the whole is prior to the parts (Pol. I 2, 1253a20).
The 1st chapter traces the kind of knowledge which can be attained by political philosophy and puts it into the context of the aristotelian conception of praxis and the differentiation between theoretical and practical philosophy, which is directed against Plato. Aristotle?s practically motivated standpoint sheds light on the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of the relationship between the whole and the parts in his first philosophy as well. The way Aristotle develops this relationship is directly connected with his affirmation of the multiplicity and movability of singular beings: the 3st chapter deals with these problems.
The 4th chapter examines the different models of subdividing the polis as a whole sketched by Aristotle. These models point to different forms of human sociability and political activity determined by the development of the polis. Aristotle specifies the qualitative aspects of the relationship between the whole and the parts by activating mainly the concepts of eîdos (form and kind), nature, eudaimonia, autarky und justice. The analysis of the polis as a whole while remaining close to the described reality is interwoven with the central political values supported by the philosopher; these aim at securing the durability of the Hellenic polis-life by attaining good-balanced relations among the constituent parts of the political whole as far as possible. A certain suspicion on the other hand, namely that Aristotle?s theory of the political constitutions does not match neither his general idea of the superiority of the monarchy nor his close relationships to the Macedonian court, necessitates a comparative examination of the overall political and ideological situation of the time. The 2nd chapter and the last parts of the 4th focus on this essential connection: in the final analysis the aristotelian theory of the constitutions is proved to be structurally parallel to the Macedonian hegemonical policy towards the Greek city-states.
The aristotelian theory is being treated in the 5th chapter as a part of a broader discourse aiming at reaching hegemony within the polis. The function of the concept of the whole concerns in this context not so much the concrete make-up of the polis as the capability of forming and maintaining collective entities within its horizon. The concept of the whole takes thus an ideal dimension rooted in the political reality of the time, which today can be studied through the concept of the imaginary. Aristotle?s analysis of the potential of ethical and political ideas to achieve their generalization within the community of the citizens of the polis points to the relevance of his theory to the contemporary problematization of the civil society. This relevance is being examined in the 6th chapter by taking into account the specific differences between ancient and modern world. The relevance of the aristotelian political philosophy to a modern use of the concept of the whole is also being discussed in the 6th chapter: a concrete theoretical gain becomes plausible by reactivating the aristotelian concept of dialectics while taking into consideration its implicitly political parameters. |
