Aristotle as a father of Political Science

Aristotle gives political science not only the status of an independent science but also the status of the highest science. He calls Niti Shastra as ‘Science of Individual good’ and Arthashastra as ‘Science of Domestic good’, but in relation to Political Science he says that it is ‘for the welfare of the entire human society. The one who propounds is ‘Shastra’ or ‘Supreme Science’.

(3) Realistic thinker –

Aristotle is the first thinker who considered politics from a realistic and practical perspective. One of its unique qualities is the element of restraint or balance. He has always advocated a middle path while avoiding exaggeration. In the words of Catlin, “Aristotle is the greatest exponent of common sense and the middle path since Confucius.”

Due to his realism, Aristotle does not propound concepts like communism of property, communism of parties or the rule of a philosopher king, rather his idea is that in the interest of the entire public, only necessary controls should be imposed on the public. Instead of the rule of a philosopher king, he believes in the wisdom and discretion of the common people. In this regard, his statement is that “There are certainly difficulties in the principle that supreme power should reside in the majority of people rather than in a few best individuals, but there is an element of truth in it.”

(4) Scientific method:

Inductive and comparative Some writers are of the opinion that the main reason for calling Aristotle the father of political science is the scientific method adopted by him in inductive and comparative forms. Before writing his book ‘Politics’, Aristotle did a comparative study and analysis of 158 constitutions and governance systems. After studying the historical form and current form of these governance systems and comparing all the facts, he propounded his theories in a scientific manner. Aristotle believed in the experience of the ages and hence he made history the foundation of his study. He also had respect for tradition and believed that existing knowledge should be used appropriately. In fact, he is the first thinker to adopt the scientific method for his studies.

(5) Systematic formulation of the complete theory of the state –

Aristotle is the first Western thinker who has presented a complete theory of the state in a systematic form. He has thrown light in detail on many important topics ranging from the birth and development of the state to its form, creation of the Constitution, formation of the government, interpretation of citizenship, supremacy of law and revolution, etc. All these are the subjects of thinking of modern politicians and such a systematic discussion of these subjects is not found even in Plato’s philosophy. Although Aristotle’s kingdom was only a city state, yet his discussion of some subjects is almost the most modern. Aristotle gave the formal expression to the statement ‘Man is a political animal’ and this sentence has always been accepted as an axiom in the history of politics. Perhaps no one in ancient and medieval times gave such a complete explanation of the state.

(6) Formulation of organs of government –

Aristotle has formulated three organs of government – policy making, administrative and judicial. These organs may not exactly correspond to the modern organs – legislature, executive and judiciary, but they are similar to them in many ways. This discovery of Aristotle later became the outline of the principle of separation of powers and the principle of checks and balances. Aristotle described the creation, scope and power of each organ separately and outlined the shape of modern government in seed form. This should be called a great foresight of Aristotle.

(7) Proclamation of supremacy of law-

Aristotle has presented a correct idea about the supremacy of law. Aristotle believes in the superiority of traditional rules and laws over the discretion of the most intelligent individuals. While Plato believes in the rule of the supreme individual, Aristotle believes in the rule of law.

His belief in the supremacy of law and the desirability of constitutional governance are his beliefs, on the basis of which he is called the ‘Founder of Constitutionalism’.

(8) To provide economic base to political institutions-

Aristotle is the first thinker to provide economic basis to political institutions. He propounded these basic facts that the goal and distribution of property is a decisive factor in determining the form of governance, the occupation of individuals affects their political ability and tendency and the root cause of revolutions is the conflict between the rich and poor classes. It happens. After a detailed study of many aspects of the economy, he concluded that if ownership of property remained individual but its use was public, then the problems of the state could be easily solved. Aristotle proved that unless a strong and large middle class is formed in the state, the state cannot be self-reliant.

If we consider all the above mentioned elements collectively, we will find that there is no exaggeration in calling Aristotle the father of political science. Maxi has rightly called Aristotle the ‘first political scientist’.