Monday, November 5, 2007

Equality For All

For Aristotle, polis is the association of households and clans in a good life. He also said that the polis itself is prior to everything else. Aristotle compared this with the whole being necessity prior to the part, so the state is by nature clearly prior to the family and to the individual. But in order to have a good polis, you must consider your family too. And it is by human nature that we consider our families first before anything else. How do we resolve these opposing statements?

Justice, for him, is the bond of men in states. The administration of justice, which is the determination of what is just, is the principle of order in political society. But he also said, “justice means equality but only for those who are equal and not for all.” Who are then those who belong to his “equal” classification? Isn't it that everyone should deserve equality?

3 comments:

  1. in the modern times, equality goes with gender too. that is, man is now equal with woman. in everything. Kathryn Fowler

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