Heath, M. (2008) Aristotle on natural slavery. Phronesis: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy, 53 (3). pp. 243-270. ISSN 1568-5284
Abstract
Aristotle's claim that natural slaves do not possess autonomous rationality (Pol. 1.5, 1254b20-23) cannot plausibly be interpreted in an unrestricted sense, since this would conflict with what Aristotle knew about non-Greek societies. Aristotle's argument requires only a lack of autonomous practical rationality. An impairment of the capacity for integrated practical deliberation, resulting from an environmentally induced excess or deficiency in thumos (Pol. 7.7, 1327b18-31), would be sufficient to make natural slaves incapable of eudaimonia without being obtrusively implausible relative to what Aristotle is likely to have believed about non-Greeks. Since Aristotle seems to have believed that the existence of people who can be enslaved without injustice is a hypothetical necessity, if those capable of eudaimonia are to achieve it, the existence of natural slaves has implications for our understanding of Aristotle's natural teleology.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2008 Brill. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Phronesis: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Humanities (Leeds) > Classics (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Sherpa Assistant |
Date Deposited: | 22 Aug 2008 14:34 |
Last Modified: | 16 Sep 2016 13:36 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156852808X307070 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Brill |
Identification Number: | 10.1163/156852808X307070 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:4463 |