Philosophy and Politics in Aristotle''s Politics

Johnson argues that Aristotle's Politics needs to be understood as a 'two-layered' treatise - the first being Aristotle's political theory, and the second as a set of questions for statesmen and politicians. Employing this model, the book sets about to provide a reconceptualization of Politics as a multi-layered, canonical work.

Aristotle''s Politics, fundamental to the Western political philosophy canon, has been widely regarded as an ancient handbook for statesmen. While conceding that Aristotle''s treatise poses questions to lawmakers, Johnson argues that scholars would benefit from reading the text as indented for two audiences: political philosophers and statesmen. The philosopher''s questions challenge our understanding of politics at an epistemological level: What does ''nature'' mean in the context of politics? What is the state? What is the ''nature'' of citizenship? What is the relation between the polis and the constitution? The statesman''s questions, conversely, work toward applying these basic principles: Why is achieving ''the mean'' and the ''middle'' in politics important, and how does the statesman achieve these goals? What is ''the best constitution for most cities? This split-audience approach sheds new light on enduring conversations surrounding Aristotle''s political masterpiece.