Law and the rule of law and its place relative to politeia in Aristotle's politics

Clifford Angell Bates

pp. 59-75

in: Liesbeth Huppes-Cluysenaer, Nuno (eds), Aristotle and the philosophy of law, Berlin, Springer, 2013

Abstract

Focusing in on Aristotle's Politics and its treatment of the question the rule of law contra the rule of rulers simply, this paper hopes to return to the original teaching of Aristotle's text and not that of the received interpretations that so powerfully shape our understanding of the question of law in the Politics. It will attempt to show that the fundamental teaching of Aristotle's political science is the supremacy of the role of the politeia and given this fact, law and the rule of law cannot be for Aristotle something that has supreme authority over the character and shape of any given political community. Thus the paper looks at how the politeia frames both the very concept of law and even the very understanding of the rule of law.

Cited authors

Aristoteles