Expound and assess Aristotle's doctrine of natural slavery

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Christopher Bell

For Harry Platanakis

Wednesday 8th March 3pm                                

Expound and assess Aristotle’s doctrine of natural slavery

         In book 1 of the Politics Aristotle introduces a discussion of the household, which he views as consisting of three essential relationships: master and slave, husband and wife and parent and child. His consideration of slavery is based not merely on its utility but also in terms of its justification.  For Aristotle, the instruments of the household form its stock of property.  These instruments can be either animate or inanimate but are intended for action rather than production.  The slave is therefore classed as an animate instrument and thus is classified as the property of his master.  As Aristotle puts it, “Anybody who by his nature is not his own man, but another’s, is by his nature a slave.”  Aristotle then expands on this definition by offering an analogy for the relationship of master and slave.  For Aristotle believes that there is a principal of rule and subordination in nature as a whole, especially in the realm of animate creation.  This helps him to counteract suggestions that slavery is unjust, since “the relation of ruler and ruled is one of those things which are not only necessary but also beneficial.”  By virtue of this principle, the soul rules the body and this rule is that of a master (as opposed to the rule, within the soul, of reason over emotion, which he classes as that of the statesman or monarch.)  This same rule can be observed in the relation between man and animal and the relation between natural master, who possesses the rational faculty of the soul, and natural slave, who possesses only bodily powers and the faculty to understand the directions given by another’s’ reason but has no ability for reasoning in himself.  “It is thus clear that, just as some are by nature free, so others are by nature slaves, and for these latter the condition is both beneficial and just” (1254b39).  

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        Aristotle’s doctrine of natural slavery has often been criticised as being presented purely to justify the commonly accepted ideology and practised institution of slavery that existed in his time and thus suffers from bias.  Indeed elsewhere, Aristotle does seem concerned to always ground his philosophy in “reputable opinions”.  However it is clear in this discussion that Aristotle does not utilize an endoxic method.  Indeed he refers dismissively to other views on slavery “that are nowadays supposed true” (1253b17).  As Smith writes, “a defence of slavery solely on pragmatic grounds was not all that Aristotle sought to achieve, for such an ...

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