Que) Discuss the Aristotle’s view on origin and nature of the state.
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Que) Discuss the Aristotle’s theory of the State.
OR
Que) Discuss the Aristotle’s view on nature and end of State.
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Origin of the state
Origin and development of the state – Aristotle, like his master Plato, refutes the idea of the Sophist class that the state originated by agreement and there are no real control over the power of its citizens. According to Aristotle, a person is a political being by his very nature and the state is the result of this nature of the person.
According to Aristotle, the state is the result of human sociality. Social life is also found in other living beings, but man is a thinking and rational being, hence his sociality is different from other living beings. This sociality is based on man’s basic tendencies and some special objectives and it has attained its full development after passing through many situations. First of all, on the basis of marriage system, he established the first social institution, family, in which husband, wife, children and slaves live together. In the family system we see the seeds of the state, because the head of the family acts as the ruler. Family is a natural community because it fulfills the needs of procreation and security.
But a person does not just want security, he has many other material and spiritual needs. Irmacha, some families together form a village. Arrangements are made by the village to settle the traditional disputes of the people and to lead their collective life, but even the village is not able to fulfill all the mental, intellectual and moral needs of the person. Hence, a city state is born from the amalgamation of villages. The state fulfills the need of providing security and justice better than the village and it can also develop the intellectual and moral powers of the individual better. Therefore, the city state is the last and complete and best community of individuals. Thus, according to Aristotle, villages came into existence from families and states from villages. The definition of state given by him also tells the same. According to him, “The state is a community of clans and villages whose objective is the attainment of a complete and self-reliant life.”
Nature and characteristics of the state
The nature of the state and its characteristics can be studied easily under the following headings:
(1) State is a natural community –
Aristotle believes that man is a political animal and the state is a natural community. State is an expression of the emotional life of man and by living apart from it, a person cannot achieve the goal of his life. Since the state is a larger form of the family, it is as natural as the family. The work of individual development, which begins in the family, can be fully accomplished only in the state. Thus, state is the last stage of development of social life. According to Sabine, “Just as it is natural for an acorn to develop into an oak tree, so it is natural for the highest powers of human nature to develop in the state.”
Apart from being natural, the state is also necessary for humans. existence of the state for the individual It is as important as family. Some emotional and some economic needs of a person are fulfilled in the family, apart from these the village fulfills some other needs, but the complete intellectual and moral development of a person is possible only in the state. Thus Aristotle reaches his conclusion that “the state arose for life and continues to exist for the sake of good life.”
(2) The state is an organization before the individual –
Aristotle, while considering the question of the state, It is said that “the state, has said that “the state is an organization prior to the individual.” In saying this, Aristotle did not mean that from the historical point of view the state was born first, rather what he meant to say was that from the mental or psychological point of view the state had already been born. Regarding how this happened, it can be said that the state is a complete community, the individual is only an element. The wholeness comes first, followed by the members, so the state takes precedence over the individual. The birth of the state as a complete concept of man’s intellectual development was the basis for the survival of the individual, family and village. It was done before I came. Aristotle says that “in terms of time the family is first, but in terms of nature From the point of view, the state is first.” This means that the state is more developed and it expresses in a better way that which remains hidden within the society.
(3) State is the supreme community –
family, village and state, all these are different types of communities (Koimonia). Every community is established for the attainment of some kind of goodness or excellence. The aim of every other community like family, village etc. is to achieve some specific and inferior good, but the aim of the state is to achieve the ‘highest good’. Therefore, naturally the state is not just a community of communities but it is the supreme community. The state is the ultimate limit of development of man’s social nature and full development of a person’s physical, intellectual and moral personality is possible only within the state. Thus the state is the supreme community and all other communities are wrapped in its fold.
(4) The form of the state is organic –
Aristotle has accepted the biological concept of the form of the state and according to him the state is an ‘organic whole’ made up of different types of organs, the individual and the community are its parts. Just as the entire importance of the parts of the body depends on human life, similarly whatever importance individuals and communities have is due to the life-giving power of the State. In the absence of a state, they will all become inert and will be destroyed. A person can develop himself as a member of the state, that is, by living in the state. Aamsu according to einstein On the basis of this idea, the foundation of the organic concept of the state has been laid.
(5) The state is a self-reliant organization –
Aristotle thinks that the state is an organization that has reached the pinnacle of self-reliance in respect of all things. Self-reliance generally means fulfilling all one’s needs on one’s own. The material needs of a person are fulfilled only partially by the family and village, the state is the only organization which provides them. Can fulfill completely. Along with this, the state is the highest of the individual’s nature. The material needs of a person are fulfilled only partially by family and village, the state is the only organization which can fulfill these needs completely. Along with this, the state also fulfills the intellectual and moral needs, the highest needs of the individual’s nature. Therefore, no person faces any kind of deprivation in the state. Lives and that is why it has been called a self-reliant organization.
(6) The city state is the most superior political organization –
For Aristotle, like Plato, the city state It was the best political organization. Although during his lifetime Philip had established his empire by dividing the city states of Greece, Aristotle did not think about these empires at all. He did not even imagine national states being formed in the future, which was quite natural. He has depicted his ideal state only in the form of a city state. This city state of Aristotle is a partnership in all science, art, virtue and perfection.
Purpose (end) and functions of the state
Aristotle says that “the state came into existence for the protection of individual life and continues to exist for the sake of life.” According to Aristotle, the state is a positive good. Its function is not only to stop bad deeds or crimes, but also to move humans forward on the path of morality and virtue. Thus, the aim of the state is to make the life of the individual better and in practice, it should do all those things which help in achieving this goal. In short, it entrusts the state with the following functions.
(1) To arrange a full and self-reliant life for its members.
(2) To develop the best tendencies of a person as a habit of good work.
(3) To satisfy the natural needs of its members.
(4) To provide such resources and environment to individuals in which they can develop their physical, intellectual and mental development. Its goal is to achieve the highest good.
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