Natural politics according to Aristotle

Abstract

What does Nature mean in the famous Aristotelian formula “man is, by nature, a political animal”? Within the context of the discussion with the Socratic assertions in Plato’s Republic, Nature means that polis is not the result of deficiency, but the expression of a positive desire. Thus, for human beings, there is no state of nature before political life. This does not mean that everything that is political is natural.

Keywords

• political animal
• Aristotle
• polis
• polity
• law
• nature