Contemplation and Civic Happiness in Plato and Aristotle

This Element shows the value Plato and Aristotle thought of intellectual contemplation, whether scientific or philosophical for society.

Dominic Scott (Author)

9781009539326, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 December 2024

74 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 0.6 cm, 0.274 kg

This Element concerns the civic value of contemplation in Plato and Aristotle: how does intellectual contemplation contribute to the happiness of the ideal state? The texts discussed include the Republic, the Nicomachean Ethics and the Politics, works in which contemplation is viewed from a political angle. The Element concludes that in the Republic contemplation has purely instrumental value, whereas in the Politics and Nicomachean Ethics it has purely intrinsic value. To do justice to the complexity of the issues involved, the author addresses a broader question about the nature of civic happiness: whether it is merely the aggregate of individual happiness or an organic quality that arises from the structure of the state. Answering this question has implications for how contemplation contributes to civic happiness. The Element also discusses how many citizens Plato and Aristotle expected to be engaged in contemplation in the ideal state.

1. Introduction
2. Plato on the social value of contemplation
3. Aristotle on the social value of contemplation
4. The extent of contemplation in Aristotle's ideal state
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA]