This event is part of the Agency in Ancient Philosophy lecture series.
Aristotle's conception of political community depends on a particular view about collective agency, that is, how we get things done in concert with one another. This view makes ruling essential to collective decision-making. Political rule turns out to be a special sort of ruling and being ruled in turn that is appropriate to those who are free and equal, the citizens of the political community. This way of looking at political rule and political community also explains why despotic rule – the rule of masters over slaves – is framed as the counterpart of political rule, and why slavery is such a preoccupation of Aristotle's in developing his theory of political community in Book I of the Politics. There is a contrasting way of understanding collective agency, namely, that of John Dewey, which emphasizes collective self-knowledge rather than activity.
About Dhananjay Jagannathan
Dhananjay Jagannathan specializes in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, the history of ethics and political philosophy, medieval philosophy (especially Aquinas), and the intersection of philosophy and literature. Much of his recent work has focused on two strands of Aristotle's thought: ethical knowledge and practical wisdom; and justice and political community. His book Aristotle's Practical Epistemology was recently published by Oxford University Press. Other research interests include neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics, tragedy as a literary and a moral concept, and the role of news journalism in democratic life.
