“POLITICAL SUBJECT” IN ARISTOTLE’S THEORY OF THE STATE

Annotation

In this article, the main content of Aristotle’s political philosophy is interpreted through the philosophical concept of the subject. It is argued that this can be done in at least two ways: either based on the concept itself in its classical (Cartesian) meaning, and in this case it is necessary to consider the position of such a subject in the state according to Aristotle; or based on the key attributes that this concept is usually endowed with (self-awareness, ability to act, sovereignty, transparency). Depending on the choice of one of these methods, the subject is understood either as an individual or as a collective. It is emphasized that with this methodological approach, the theory of the state implies, first of all, a collective subject. The latter precedes the individual subject ontologically, thus defines and forms a particular subjectivity, which turns out to be not fixed once and for all, but changing depending on contextual political prerequisites, on a specific political structure, within which it is decided what makes an empirical subject a political subject. A political structure makes a private subject a subject of politics, therefore, depending on the form of the state, a political subjectivity is formed, inherent or not inherent in one or another individual who is a citizen of the city-state.

Keywords

collective subject, individual subject, theory of the state, Aristotle, philosophical methodology

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Исследование выполнено за счет гранта Российского научного фонда № 23-18-00971,
https://rscf.ru/project/23-18-00971/