Greek Thinkers:

Aristotle, and Post-Aristotle

 Outline

Aristotle On Slavery Art of Private Justice by Thinkers Post-

Acquisition Property Aristotle Aristotle
&
Theory of
Money
Aristotle
 Aristotle
● Lived 384 - 322 B.C.
● Born in Stagira, spent
most of life in Athens
Aristotle ● Student of Plato, in
The Academy
● Tutor of Alexander the Great
Plato Alexander
(This was because his father was the Great
physician to King Philip of Macedonia,
Source: Biography.com whose son is Alexander the Great)
 Plato
● More Aristocratic
● More strict regulation of society
● Perfect Unity
● Communal Property
Aristotle
● Less Aristocratic
● Empirical focus (Logic & Arithmatic)
● Emphasis on man’s moral
improvement
● Found fault with Extreme Unity
● Private Property
 Plato Aristotle

Aristotle considers Plato his mentor, but due to the fact that they arise from different
backgrounds and in different times, they thus see their world in different ways. Many of
Plato’s ideas Aristotle holds dear, but to some (like communal property) he has proposed
differences accordingly. Both their inclination are the same, but there are distinctions in
their works and ideas.
 Aristotle’s Thinking
● Moral improvement
○ by proper environment
People can be changed through this,
○ Suitable institutions and these will lead to men
○ Power of persuasion becoming better

● Change and Growth play significant role, illustrated by “Nature /

Natural”, where “Something is natural if it leads to the realization of
its final purpose”
● Aristotle’s ideas, however profound, at times lack consistency
● Contributions: Economic and societal arrangement, property, value,
justice and exchange.
 Some of Aristotle’s
Contributions
●Treatise featured in Henry William Spiegel’s book include:
○ Politics A translation of
Aristotle’s Politics |
○ Topics Source: Thomas
More College.
○ Rethoric
○ Nicomachean Ethics
On Slavery
 On Slavery
○ Economics, used by Aristotle by the literal Greek meaning of
“Management of Household”

○ Including relationship between Husband and Wife, Parent and Child,

Master and Slave

○ Many have argued that the concept of slavery is unjust (as it is made
by man, thus not natural), but Aristotle does not agree

○ “From the hour of their birth, some are marked for subjection, others
for rule”
 Aristotle on Slavery

● In slavery, the master uses his mind to

plan or foresee

● Meanwhile the slave uses his body to

make that plan or foresight come true

Master Slave
Use mind to foresee Use body to make
foresight come true
 Aristotle on Slavery
Slavery ● Aristotle, like his mentor Plato, considers slaves as
natural. Although according to Aristotle not all
who happen to be slaves are slaves by nature

Natural Unnatural ● In the natural form, there forms a community of

interest, even a positive relationship between
master and slave

● In the unnatural form, the slavery is by power. In

this form slaves are not personally willing, the
Community of
slaves are coerced and usually traded through
interest Slavery by
Power wars
Friendship
The Art of Acquisition
The Art of Acquisition

● To Aristotle, Acquisition is the satisfaction of basic human

needs, and it provides for the management of the household,
or Economics.

● It is challenging still to specifically distinguish between natural

and unnatural, between satisfaction of human needs, and
human wants
 Natural Unnatural

● Directly satisfies needs ● Aim at Monetary gain

● Yield wealth limited in Quantity
● Different methods lead to different ways of life:
○ Pastoral: inherently natural, taking things
from the land
○ Farming: man-made activity of harvesting
crops
○ Fishing: taking fish from the waters
○ Hunting: act of chasing, catching and killing
wild animals/game
○ Piracy: act of taking things that belong to
other people without their consent
● Potentially unlimited wealth:
○ “It becomes the end itself rather than a
means to an end”
○ Wealth is the instrument for material
goods, of which people have unlimited
desires
● Example:
○ Lending with interest
Distinguishing Use and Exchange

● Aristotle differentiates between value in use, and value in exchange, and continues this
with the distinction between use and exchange of goods.
○ Direct satisfaction of wants → true and proper use of goods
○ Exchange for monetary gain → secondary, improper use of goods
● Lending at interest is very unnatural, because:
○ It creates gains from money itself
○ Money naturally creates no valuable “offspring”, according to Aristotle “Money is
barren”
○ A person should gain through personal effort, and interest is not the way by
personal effort
Distinguishing Use and Exchange

● Both Plato and Aristotle reject the idea of commercialism, and the idea of money creating its
own profit
● To him the state is held together by actions of give-and-take, and this is called “the salvation of
states”
● Natural exchange is highly regarded (such as barter), and only exchanges that aim at monetary
gain are considered unnatural and condemned
● Money can be (dubiously) considered natural, only if it is as a measure of value
● The distinction between natural and unnatural acquisition is not explicitly stated, this can be
resolved by Aristotle’s appeal for moderation.
Aristotle’s Theory of Money

Money is not natural, it arises from law or convention

● Firstly from foreign trade, serviceable commodities were used as money

○ This was difficult, due to complicated ways of measuring weight and size

● Then stamped coins are used → allows unnatural accumulation of wealth

● Money is not equal to wealth, as it cannot directly satisfy needs

Private Property
 Private Property

● Aristotle opposes communal property and restrictions on private property

ownership.
● Critique of Plato’s ideal Republic and “Perfect Unity”, where “perfect unity” would
lead to ruin of the state
● “Perfect Unity” conflicts with:
○ Diversity
○ Reciprocity
○ Self-Sufficiency
● Since Communal Property is the road to “Perfect Unity”
● Aristotle considers Private Property superior to Communal Property,
with 5 reasons:
Private Property

Progress
Goods owned by a large number of people receive less care. Private property is thus more
productive and has more progress. People will have incentive to look after it more.

Peace
When in close partnership, people face difficulties/problems arise. People will insist that
they have contributed more but received less than others.

Pleasure
There is pleasure to the owner to call it “mine”
 Private Property

Practice
Experience over time testifies. Private Property has existed for so long already,
abolishing it would be at great cost.

Philanthropy
Opportunity for moral goodness. Plato’s Private Property is meant to be divided: One for
private use, one for friends and another for common use. Plato’s intention is for everyone,
including the poor, to be able to grow, and for the rich to help the poor become better,
instead of just giving money.
Private Property

● Aristotle opposes Plato’s idea of limitations on private property ownership

● “It is more necessary to limit population than property”

● It is how we use property which is most significant to Aristotle, instead of

the property itself.

● “It would be more important to equalize human desires rather than

property”
Private Property

● Aristotle acknowledges that people’s wants are unlimited, thus he

considers Plato’s ideas to abolish private property will not suffice

● Again it is “more important to equalize desires than property”, and Plato

thinks equalizing desires can be through education

● Those who are able to receive education will be taught to control their
wants. Those unable to receive education would be prevented from
wealth, by being put in an inferior position but not subjected to injustice
Aristotle’s Proposition

Reliance on Education
Acknowledging human differences, and using
suitable institutions

Educated people Uneducated people

taught to moderate put in inferior

their desires (less influential) places
Aristotle’s Welfare State

● The Welfare state is one that can spread happiness

● Goods (such as property) are meant to be available in a shared fashion,

leaving portions for friends and some for the citizens’ common enjoyment

● “The state cannot be considered truly happy unless all, more or at least
some of its members are happy”
Justice by Aristotle
 “The principle of moderation underlies Aristotle’s concept of virtue”
“the virtuous man will practice courage, because this is between extremes”

Cowardly
Courage Daring
Restraint

Miser Liberal Spendthrift

The Golden Mean → Virtue

Aristotelian Analysis of Justice

● Aristotle absorbs many of Pythagorean teachings (most of which consider the

world governed by mathematics)

● Thus he linked people using mathematical formulas (such as the mean).

● The mean is linked with the proportionality, which is shown in Aristotle’s

Analysis of Justice
 Aristotelian Analysis of Justice

Distributive Justice Corrective Justice

● Sharing of wealth & honor ● Reducing the gain of one side

● Not equal, but proportional and reducing loss of the other
● If A>B, C>D ● C is equidistant to A and B

A:B=C:D A-C=C-B

A C B
 Justice in Exchange

● Reciprocity : “evil for evil, good for good”

● There needs to be proportionate equality of the goods first, before the exchange.

A : B = xD : C

A = shoemaker
B = builder
D = shoe
C = house
 Justice in Exchange

A : B = xD : C

Once the exchange has happened, the ● Determined by Labor or Utility

relative position of the involved parties ○ X equating the labor of shoemaker
remain undisturbed
and builder
if xD = C ○ X equating the utility of shoe and
then A=B
house

*Applicable only to isolated trading partners,

not to a market with parties more than 2
Thinkers Post-Aristotle
Cynicism, Stoicism and Epicureanism
 Thinkers Post-Aristotle

Cynicism Stoicism Epicureanism

Diogenes Sitting in his Tub, Jean- Zeno of Citium

Léon Gérôme (1860) Epicurus
Source: dailystoic.com
Source: The Walters Art Museum Source: Epicurus.net
Thinkers Post-Aristotle

◉ These thinkers lived in a different environment to Aristotle

◉ Historically speaking, there was war and massive political instability at the
time -- the greek city-states had been under control

◉ So their thoughts are more towards humanity, and less narrow than that of
Aristotle and Plato’s city-state

◉ They appealed to the poor and dispossessed

◉ Emphasis is to restrain demand for worldly goods.

Cynicism

◉ “Adopted a name and life of dogs” - not in the literal

sense, but in that they live in harsh conditions
◉ Cynics deliberately put themselves in hard situations
to become free of human wants
◉ And to show that life can be lived even in the ‘worst’
conditions.
Stoicism

◉ Stoicism is derived from the word stoa (Greek for porch),

which is where Zeno often teaches his classes. From this we
learn that the ‘process of learning’ can be done beyond the
classroom
◉ Virtue → Happiness : Virtue is the foremost good and is
considered to lead to happiness
◉ Virtuous conduct is free from emotion and passions
◉ Achieving “Serenity of Mind”, by drifting from pleasure
◉ Trickled down to Roman Jurists, with Gravitas, or Natural Law,
which has survived to this day.
Epicureanism
◉ “If you wish to make a person wealthy, do not give
him more money, but diminish his desire” -Epicurus
◉ A simple life, with peace, safety and friendship
◉ Contentment with only little, evaluating each desire
that they have
◉ Less strict than Aristotle’s thinkings
○ Epicurus withdraws from Political Participation
Thank You!
“
References

● Spiegel, Henry William. 1991. The Growth of Economic

Thought. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.
● [Photo sources as stated respectively]