Aristotle's Views on Ethics and Politics

A Parallel Universe Aristotle’s famous works, The Politics and The Constitution of Athens (Politics) and Nicomachean Ethics (Ethics), are two completely independent books, yet both contain unusually similar context. However, this is not merely a coincidence as Aristotle firmly believed in a strong tie between ethics and political science; henceforth both social ideas should be studied side by side with a dual perspective. Through Politics and Ethics Aristotle makes known to us multiple justifications for his viewpoint, which through thorough examination of his arguments we can easily see his clear and concise rational as to why political science and ethics should be studied as equals. In Politics the main focus is on the foundations and backbone of a city. Critical aspects such as citizenry and justice can be used as vessels in which we explain the relationship between politics and ethics. One of Aristotle’s core beliefs is that one does not necessarily need to be a good individual as long as they are a good citizen. This view is very particular in that he justifies this idea with the notion that ethics one contributes to the smooth running of a community are far more important than personal ethicsi. He also emphasizes that humans naturally try to define what is just and unjust, while reaching for the greater good in lifeii. Aristotle takes this view and argues that the best kind of government is one where the citizen is able to be governed and can govern in a general direction towards excellenceiii. Aristotle’s ending claim is that the constitution is the life of the city and a set of ethics in the constitution is what allows for the stable existence of the state, its politics and the political science surrounding itiv. While the book Ethics is similar, instead of looking at what is good for society, it puts into perspective what is good in society. At the beginning of the work Aristotle says frankly that method of controlling what individuals should