[lit-ideas] Re: Aristotle & The Disciplines
- From: "Phil Enns" <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 14:45:19 -0500
Aristotle begins his book on ethics with a brief summary of what will
follow in order to establish the context for the book: it is a political
inquiry. That what follow is a political inquiry is significant since,
according to Aristotle, it determines the approach.
"Noble and just things, with which politics is concerned, have so many
differences and fluctuations that they are thought to exist only by
custom and not by nature. Good things, too, have such fluctuations
because harm has come from them to many individuals.... So in
discussing such matters and in using [premises] concerning them, we
should be content to indicate the truth roughly and in outline, and when
we deal with things which occur for the most part and use similar
[premises] for them, [we should be content to draw] conclusions of a
similar nature." (1094b 14-23, trans. Apostle)
What is just and good cannot be fixed, leading some to think that these
terms only have meaning relative to local habits and practices.
Aristotle will disagree with this conclusion but his point is that it is
unreasonable to expect the discussion that follows to ignore the
importance of custom for ethics. For this reason, the premises and
conclusions of what follows should be understood to be relative to
particular customs. This does _not_ mean that there is no truth to the
matter, only that the truth will be roughly drawn from what is given
through custom.
Some readers may object that ethics warrants a more clear account of
what is true, perhaps having the precision of mathematics in mind, but
Aristotle disagrees.
"The listener, too, should accept each of these statements in the same
manner; for it is the mark of an educated man to seek as much precision
in things of a given genus as their nature allows, for to accept
persuasive arguments from a mathematician appears to be [as improper as]
to demand demonstrations from a rhetorician." (1094b23-28)
Aristotle claims that each discipline, whether it be mathematics,
rhetoric, or ethics, has its own internal criterion of what is a precise
argument. At this point, Aristotle throws us a curve ball. What we
might be expecting is some sort of discussion regarding precision, or
specificity, where the mathematician is expected to go into great detail
while the rhetorician paints in broad strokes. Instead, Aristotle turns
to what might be best described as disciplinary practices. It is
improper to expect from the mathematician, qua mathematician, the
rhetorical practice of persuasion, just as it is improper to expect from
the rhetorician, qua rhetorician, the mathematical practice of
demonstrations. In short, there is a practice that belongs to political
inquiry and it is improper to expect any other practice. And any
educated person knows this!
Aristotle then makes clear why he distinguishes between the disciplines
according to practices:
"Now a man judges well the things he knows [well], and it is of these
that he is a good judge; so a good judge in a subject is one who is
educated in that subject, and a good judge without qualification is one
who is educated in every subject." (1094b 29-1095a 2)
Education is not a qualification that stands apart from particular
disciplines but arises from a familiarity with particular disciplines.
Furthermore, being educated is not about information but judgment.
"In view of this, a young man is not a proper student of [lectures on]
politics; for he is inexperienced in actions concerned with human life,
and discussions proceed from [premises concerning those actions] and
deal with [those actions]." (1095b 2-4)
What the young* man lacks is experience in making judgments regarding
what is just and good. Education regarding ethics requires that the
student have experience in making ethical judgments. At first this
sounds wrong, after all, isn't the point of education to guide in making
judgments? If I am making ethical judgments, why do I need education in
order to make ethical judgments? Here we return to Aristotle's turn to
disciplinary practices. It is true that the young man does things but
they are not ethical acts unless they involve ethical judgments, and
what makes the activity an ethical judgment is that it is done according
to the actions proper to ethics. This, however, seems even more wrong.
To act ethically is to do those actions proper to ethics, but to be
educated in ethics one has to already act ethically.
So, what is the point of education?
"For knowledge about such matters in such a man [i.e. the 'young' man -
P.E.], as in those who are incontinent, becomes unprofitable; but in
those who form their desires and act according to [right] reason, it
becomes very beneficial." (1095a 9-11)
Education brings together the actions proper to ethics and right reason.
For the person who has no idea what ethical actions are, education is
useless. For the person who is controlled by passion, the actions lack
judgment. However, to the one who both knows the right actions and
exercises them according to a judgment guided by right reason, education
can be very beneficial.
This accords with Aristotle's discussion of custom. We cannot know what
ethics is apart from how it is practiced in particular places and in
particular instances. This particularity is constrained by custom.
However, what identifies these actions as being ethical is not the
custom, but the custom as practiced under right reason. It is therefore
possible to have a discussion regarding the truth concerning the just
and the good, even though that account will be, fitting the subject,
rough and in outline. What follows then, in the _Ethics_, is a rough
account that aims to educate but must always be recognized by the reader
as being made from within a particular context.
*Aristotle makes clear that being young pertains to making decisions
based on passion rather than judgment, so that an elderly person might
have a youthful character because he acts according to passion and not
judgment.
Sincerely,
Phil Enns
Toronto, ON
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