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H2020Individual fellowship2019–2021

PolArist · The Fragmentary Constitutions of Aristotle

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2019-09-01 → 2021-08-31
EU contribution
€159,461
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST

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Results in brief

The Fragmentary Constitutions of Aristotle

What is the best form of government? Many would agree today that it is some form of democracy. However, Aristotle, one of the greatest minds of antiquity, certainly did not hold this opinion. He even considered democracy one of the degenerated forms of government, comparable to tyranny. He criticized it particularly because demagogues were given the freedom to mislead the people and manipulate them into voting pernicious resolutions. This sounds very modern in the current climate of fake news, alternative facts and Euroscepticism. But where does Aristotle’s opinion come from? His inquiry into the best form of government is no armchair philosophizing but is based on his research into the existing political systems and their history. This research was collected in his now fragmentarily preserved Constitutions. Therefore, in order to understand Aristotle’s political philosophy, it is necessary to study him also as a historian, an approach which is rarely taken. This requires a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the individual fragments and a synthesis which attempts to reconstruct the work and explores Aristotle’s method, sources and impact on later generations. The overall objectives of the project were the following: 1. To collect all the fragments of the Constitutions 2. To provide a textual reconstruction of the work 3. To define the content and structure of the Constitutions 4. To explore the relation to other writers and Aristotle's reception 5. To study the link with the Politics and Aristotle’s political philosophy 6. To identify the sources, method, historical value and authorship of the work

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

One of the greatest minds of antiquity was no doubt Aristotle. He is usually studied or read as a philosopher. However, his entire life, Aristotle was also a researcher, fascinated by history. His most important historical work is his huge collection of Constitutions, which were a gold mine of unique information on the history and organization of the Greek city-states. Only the Athenian Constitution survives almost in its entirety. Of the other constitutions all that remains are ""fragments,"" i.e. citations in extant writers, and the epitome by Heraclides Lembus. There are many editions and studies of the Athenian Constitution, but nothing comparable is found for the other constitutions. Therefore, my project will focus on the fragmentarily preserved constitutions, more specifically the 44 constitutions which were also included by Heraclides. My aim is to define the content and structure of the fragmentary Constitutions, study the link with Aristotle’s political philosophy, explore his reception and the relation to other ancient writers and identify the sources, method, historical value and authorship. For this purpose I will make an edition, translation and commentary of the fragments, which will be published as a book by Brill. This research will fill a major research gap in our knowledge of Aristotle’s lost works and his impact on western civilization. The Constitutions also offer valuable information on the political system and culture of many Greek cities. Ancient Greece is usually considered the ancestor of our modern democracy, but the reality is much more nuanced than we often make it out to be. The Constitutions can help us better understand the ancient world, which may serve as a mirror for modern discussions about justice, power, autonomy and government. LMU will be the perfect host for this project, since it gathers world-class authorities on Aristotle and hosts the Bavarian State Library, which contains one of the best classics collections in the world.""

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN · PlaneggCoordinatorGermany

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union