Aristotle on Acquisition

Aristotle is reputed to be a thinker for whom nature is a standard which enables political judgments to avoid being arbitrary. By examining his discussion of acquisition in the Politics, this article reconsiders whether and how this reputation is deserved. Although Aristotle's discussion seems to represent a classic case in which theoretical reflections on nature issue in a moral condemnation of limitless acquisition, a subsequent distinction between theory and practice limits the practical consequences of his remarks on nature. This observation invites a rethinking of Aristotle's position on the relationship between nature and political life. Resume. L'un des principes de base de la pensee d'Aristote, selon l'interpretation commune, serait l'emploi de la nature comme mesure (ou meme comme source) des jugements politiques. C'est en se rapportant h cet etalon qu'on peut se garder de l'arbitraire et de l'erreur dans desjugements de ce genre. Mais est-ce 1l une appr6ciation assez nuancee de la faqon dont Aristote se sert de ce concept? Voila la question que nous nous proposons d'examiner ici. Comme point de depart, nous prenons le passage celebre de la Politique ou Aristote aborde le probleme de l'acquisition. Comme on le sait, le philosophe commence par une consideration theorique de la nature, pour passer ensuite i une affirmation d'ordre moral, . savoir la condamnation de l'acquisition illimitee. Mais ce qu'on n'a pas assez remarque, c'est qu'il intr duit ensuite une distinction entre theorie et pratique qui a pour effet de reduire la portee de son affirmation. Cette observation nous appelle . reconsiderer le rapport qui existe, dans la pensee d'Aristote, entre la nature et la vie politique. each group. It is also implied, and later indicated more clearly, that man's acquisition is adequately guided and his needs amply supplied, so that he-like the animals-is not in need of any sophisticated arts to take care of himself. His acquisitive life is said to be "direct from nature" (autophyton), and the property which he acquires is said to be "given by nature herself' (1256a40-41, 1256b8). One might be inclined to say that nature's gifts can only be well-received through advanced arts, but this does not appear to be the immediate suggestion Aristotle wishes to convey here. By likening man's acquisition of nourishment to that by the animals, by restricting his discussion to the acquisition of nourishment alone, by seeing this nourishment as a gift of nature, and by seeming to speak about men in a distant, pre-political age, Aristotle both suggests the familiar tension between art and nature and implies that nature's gifts are sufficiently abundant to render unnecessary the development of the arts. That is, Aristotle's implicit teaching about nature is that it is to be found in the simple, spontaneous, and primitive times of man's pre-political past. Moreover, if men were hard pressed in these times, Aristotle chooses not to trumpet this fact. Nature appears to be kindly toward man and to be able to be so without the assistance of the arts. Aristotle not only suggests that natural acquisition does not require the arts or trade, he also makes this suggestion in a way that outlines a general teaching about nature. Although disagreeing with this teaching, Susemihl acknowledges its presence when he characterizes this section as a "crude teleology.''5 Consider the following lines: "Such property is manifestly given by nature itself to all, both to those just born and likewise to those attaining completion.... It is clear that we must think... that the plants exist for the sake of the animals, and the other 5 Susemihl and Hicks, Aristotle's Politics, 176n. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.114 on Thu, 26 May 2016 05:55:40 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms