Political ThoughtViews on Slavery

byAristotle

Presented by-Sanket GogoiB.A., LL.B (Hons)Dept. of Law, Guwahati University

The person who is not his own men is a Slave.

According to Aristotle- Slave is a living possession and property

of his master. Though he has sufficient power to understand and follow reason he has no reasoning power

Definition

In order to develop-

1. Moral and2. Intellectual Excellence

P.S.- Development of these faculties needs leisure which can be provided only my slavery.

Necessasity of Slave

Three Grounds on which Aristotle justified Slavery-

1. Natural.2. Usefulness.3. Expediency.

Justification of Slavery

Nature provides different persons with different qualities and ordains that superior should rule over the inferior.

Acc. to Aristotle another general rule of nature is that the inferior should be subordinate to the superior.

Nature has endowed the masters with intellectual strength and bestowed physical strength on the slaves.

Natural

Aristotle asserts that masters should be free from material worries so the they may be able to concentrate on the public affairs.

Aristotle says that slavery is not only useful to the master but also to the slave, because he is also to share the virtue of his master and get elevated.

USEFULNESS

Aristotle says that during his time slavery played a vital role in the maintenance and operation of the Greed economy. A major portion of the population residing in the city-state consisted of states and their emancipation would have greatly upset the balance of power in the city-state and damage the social fabric. This would have given rise to social disorder and chaos.

Expediency

First, Aristotle wrongly assumes that some are born to rule because they are intelligent and virtuous. This is contrary to the modern notions of equality which assumes that all are born equal and some develop the faculties which equip them to rule over others.

Secondly even we accept Aristotle's conception that only superior should rule over the inferior. On the other hand Aristotle presumes the existence of only two classes the master and slaves.

Criticism of Aristotle's view on Slavery

Thirdly, Aristotle treats slavery as a hereditary institution and asserts that some people are by nature slaves.

Finally, his theory of slavery is also contrary to the notions of social justice. On the other hand he considers the slavery essential to enable the masters to devote themselves fully to the service of the society, but on the other hand he does not acknowledge their importance or properly reward them for their services. This is clear violation of the notion of social justice

Criticism of Aristotle's view on Slavery

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