Major Works

• Politics

  - Aristotle: The Politics. trans. Carnes Lord, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984
  First lines: “Every state is a community of some kind, and every community is established with a view to some good; for mankind always act in order to obtain that which they think good. But, if all communities aim at some good, the state or political… More

Commentary

• Aristotle

  - Jaffa, Harry. "Aristotle." In Strauss, Leo, and Joseph Cropsey, eds. History of Political Philosophy. Chicago: Rand MacNally, 1972.
  Excerpt: “The subject of Aristotle’s Politics is the polis or political community. There is no single English word that will translate polis, and to understand why is indispensable to any introduction to Aristotle’s political philosophy. The… More

• Aristotle and Theories of Justice by Delba Winthrop

  - Winthrop, Delba. "Aristotle and Theories of Justice." American Political Science Review, Vol. 72, No. 4 Dec. 1978.
  Abstract: “Today it is all the rage for political theorists and even philosophers to have theories of justice. Looking back on the history of political thought, we cannot help but notice that not all previous philosophers have taken justice and theories… More

• Aristotle on Participatory Democracy

  - Winthrop, Delba. "Aristotle on Participatory Democracy." Polity, Vol. 11, No. 2, Winter, 1978.
  Excerpt: “When political scientists and historians of political philosophy they are understandably tempted to speculate what he might have said about a political problem with which we Americans are vitally concerned: participatory democracy. If our own… More

• Aristotle’s Theory of the State

  - Johnson, Curtis. Aristotle’s Theory of the State. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990.
  Review: “The main thesis of this … book is that ‘ through the many twists and turns of Aristotle’s writing on the subject of politics which holds the many parts of the politics together one may identify an inner logic, however… More

• The Problems of a Political Animal

  - Yack, Bernard. The Problems of a Political Animal. Berkeley: U. of Cal. Press, 1993.
  Excerpt: “The shared sentiments and commitments that constitute a community are often the source of its deepest conflicts. Anyone who has lived in a family rather than merely longed for a home knows that all too well. Strangers may cheat you, but only… More

• Aristotle’s “Best Regime”

  - Bates, Clifford. Aristotle’s “Best Regime.” Louisiana State University Press, 2003.
  Excerpt: “The last decade of the 20th century  produced a boom in scholarship concerning Aristotelian political philosophy. This reawakened interest in Aristotle’s political thought, and the us all the new attention to the politics, seems due in… More

• Aristotle, Politics, Book I: A Reconsideration

  - Winthrop, Delba. "Aristotle, Politics, Book I: A reconsideration." Perspectives on Political Science 37.4 (Fall 2008).
  Modern science, particularly Thomas Hobbes, begins with a broad attack on Aristotle intended to replace “Aristotelity” in the universities. This attack, however, was superficial and never properly reconsidered when Hobbes and his cohort were in… More

• Aristotle’s Teaching in the “Politics” by Thomas Pangle

  - Pangle, Thomas. Aristotle’s Teaching in the “Politics.” Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.
  In this work, Thomas Pangle offers a detailed, brilliant interpretation of Aristotle’s Politics, that argues, among other things, that “Aristotle’s public theorizing about political practice is a highly self-conscious form of political… More

Multimedia

• Steven Smith – Intro to Political Philosophy: Aristotle II

  - Smith, Steven B., "Introduction to Political Philosophy," Open Yale Courses, 24 lectures, Fall 2006.
  About the course: This course is intended as an introduction to political philosophy as seen through an examination of some of the major texts and thinkers of the Western political tradition. Three broad themes that are central to understanding political life… More

• Steven Smith – Intro to Political Philosophy: Aristotle I

  - Smith, Steven B., "Introduction to Political Philosophy," Open Yale Courses, 24 lectures, Fall 2006.
  About the course: This course is intended as an introduction to political philosophy as seen through an examination of some of the major texts and thinkers of the Western political tradition. Three broad themes that are central to understanding political life… More