YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Tutto il pensiero di Aristotele in mezz'ora

Tutto il pensiero di Aristotele in mezz'ora — Transcript

by Pillole di Storia, Filosofia e... · 4,715 words · 786 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00The idea at the core of Aristotelian
0:08thought is that through the observation
0:11and study of nature, all of reality can
0:14be understood in its rationality. As a
0:18whole, Aristotle's works create a
0:21rigorous system that encompasses
0:23various fields of knowledge. This
0:27philosophical system can be divided
0:30into two parts. On one side, we have
0:33sciences that focus on the necessary,
0:36meaning that which cannot be otherwise.
0:40This group includes the so-called
0:42theoretical sciences, which are the
0:45sciences concerned with knowledge.
0:48These sciences are mathematics, physics
0:52, and philosophy, which we can also
0:55call metaphysics or ontology. On the
0:59other side, we have sciences that focus
1:02on the possible, meaning that which can
1:04be otherwise. This group includes
1:08practical sciences, which concern
1:11individual and collective human action
1:14—in other words, ethics and politics
1:16—and poetic sciences, which concern
1:19production, or the creation of
1:21something external to man. Specifically
1:25, Aristotle focuses on rhetoric, which
1:27is the production of discourse, and
1:29aesthetics, which is artistic
1:31production. Outside this distinction
1:35between sciences of the necessary and
1:37sciences of the possible lies logic.
1:41Logic is the field that investigates
1:43language, or the validity of arguments.
1:46Logic represents a kind of basic
1:48grammar that provides the foundation
1:51for all possible sciences. Following
1:55the order of Aristotle's works, in this
1:58video we will focus first on logic,
2:01then physics, philosophy, the practical
2:04sciences, and finally the poetic
2:06sciences. Logic can be defined as the
2:19study of the truth of propositions. In
2:23practice, it studies whether the
2:24connections we establish between a
2:26series of terms are correct or not.
2:29Starting from this premise, let us look
2:32at four issues addressed by Aristotle.
2:35The types of possible propositions, the
2:37concept of the syllogism, the concepts
2:40of genus and species, and the principle
2:42of non-contradiction. Regarding the
2:45first topic, Aristotle maintains that
2:48propositions can be universal,
2:50particular, or singular. In logic,
2:54Aristotle focuses mainly on universal
2:56and particular ones, as singular
2:59propositions are not the subject of
3:01science since they lack general
3:03validity. Beyond the distinctions
3:06between universal and particular, we
3:08can further subdivide propositions into
3:11affirmative or negative, or into
3:13possible or necessary. Based on these
3:20possible distinctions, Aristotle
3:22studies which connections are valid and
3:24which are not. Among the various
3:26connections, the most important is what
3:28Aristotle calls the syllogism. A
3:30syllogism is also called chained
3:33reasoning and consists of three
3:35propositions: two premises and one
3:37conclusion. In a syllogism, if the
3:40premises are true, the conclusion is
3:43necessarily valid. Let's use an example
3:46to better understand. Take this
3:47syllogism where the first premise is "
3:50all animals are mortal," and the second
3:52premise is "all men are animals." The
3:55conclusion is, therefore, "all men are
3:57mortal." For a syllogism to be correct,
4:00it must not only have valid premises
4:03but also follow a specific structure of
4:06terms. Specifically, the premises must
4:09first contain a middle term, which is
4:11one that appears in both premises—in
4:13this case, "animals." Then, two extreme
4:17terms appear, one in the first premise
4:20and one in the second—in this case, "
4:23mortal" and "men." Finally, in the
4:26conclusion, the two extreme terms are
4:28connected, and the middle term is
4:30eliminated. This basic schema can have
4:33a series of variables that Aristotle
4:36calls figures, which we won't analyze
4:38here. Another element that can further
4:41complicate the schema is the presence
4:43or absence of negative or particular
4:45propositions. We will focus only on
4:49this first figure, however, because
4:51Aristotle defines it as scientific, as
4:54it produces valid conclusions from
4:57given premises. This reasoning is
5:00demonstrative or deductive and is the
5:03basis of science, as it produces
5:05universal and necessary knowledge. One
5:08last problem to investigate, however,
5:10is that of the premises, since a
5:12syllogism is valid only if the premises
5:14are valid. If, starting from a certain
5:17truth we recognize as such, we can
5:19deductively derive another truth, the
5:21problem is how to trace back to the
5:23general, universal truth from which to
5:25derive the others. Here we must apply a
5:28method contrary to the deductive one,
5:29namely, the inductive method. Inductive
5:32reasoning is starting from a series of
5:35particular cases to draw a universal
5:38property. Let's use an example that
5:40Aristotle also uses. On one hand, he
5:42notes that man, horse, and mule are
5:44animals without bile. On the other, he
5:47notes that these three animals are
5:48long-lived. This allows him to induce a
5:51general truth: that animals without
5:53bile are long-lived. This leads us to
6:04another theme central to the
6:06Aristotelian logical system: the
6:08concepts of genus and species. By genus
6:12, we mean a more general level to which
6:14a less universal group, called a
6:16species, belongs. Let's take an example
6:18. Man is a species that belongs to the
6:21genus of animals. This distinction
6:25leads to the possibility of producing
6:28definitions, or finding an essence that
6:30distinguishes a certain universal—
6:33understanding "universal" as the
6:35concept of men, horses, cats, and so on
6:37. All these groups belong to the animal
6:41genus and therefore have being mortal
6:43in their essence. At the same time,
6:46however, it is possible to construct a
6:48specific definition for each of them
6:50starting from their differences.
6:52Sticking to the example, we can say
6:54that man is the species that belongs to
6:57the animal genus and, unlike the others
6:59, is rational. Thus, we can arrive at
7:02the conclusion that the universal
7:04definition of man is that he is a
7:06mortal and rational animal. One last
7:13aspect to analyze regarding
7:14Aristotelian logic is that related to
7:17the principle of non-contradiction.
7:19Every science has its own principles,
7:21as physics, for example, is something
7:23different from geometry, but common
7:25principles also exist. These common
7:27principles are axioms, that is,
7:29self-evident truths. Fundamental among
7:32the axioms is the principle of
7:34non-contradiction, which is the basis
7:36of the entire Aristotelian logical
7:38system. This principle states that a
7:41thing cannot be and not be at the same
7:44time, that is, A cannot also be non-A.
7:48In even simpler terms, a cat cannot be
7:52a non-cat. The principle of
7:55non-contradiction is the logical basis
7:57of all discourse, as denying it would
8:00lead to formulating absurd truths. The
8:09works on logic, by dealing with
8:11language, lay the foundations of
8:13knowledge. After these, Aristotle
8:16begins the actual study of reality with
8:18a series of treatises dedicated to
8:20physics, that is, the study of those
8:22bodies that have change as their
8:24essential characteristic. The main
8:27themes touched upon by Aristotle, which
8:29we will retrace, are the essences of
8:31species, the causes of becoming, the
8:33structure of the cosmos, the prime
8:35unmoved mover, and the soul. Before we
8:42begin to delve into Aristotelian
8:44physics, a premise is necessary.
8:46According to Aristotle, the world is
8:48composed of a series of natural species
8:51, each of which is endowed with its own
8:53essence. This means that while modern
8:56science seeks to identify general laws
8:59capable of explaining the functioning
9:01of the universe, for Aristotle, every
9:03species is endowed with an essence that
9:05determines its specific functioning. In
9:08this perspective, nature is an ordered
9:11set of species that are fixed and
9:13endowed with their own essential
9:15mechanisms. The differences between
9:17these species are then of a qualitative
9:20nature and not quantitative. Here, too,
9:22there is a major difference with modern
9:25science, which studies the things of
9:27the world through its quantitative data
9:29—that is, objective and measurable—
9:31rather than qualitative, which are
9:33subjective and not measurable. Having
9:40made this premise, let us immediately
9:42identify another pillar of Aristotelian
9:44physics. If physics is the study of
9:47things that change, the starting point
9:50must be to ask why change exists.
9:53Aristotle identifies four causes that
9:55contribute to determining change. The
9:59formal cause, meaning that everything
10:01must necessarily take a certain form;
10:04the material cause, meaning that change
10:07is possible because the matter
10:09composing things is destined to change.
10:12The efficient cause, meaning the idea
10:15that there is an external agent acting
10:17on matter to modify it; and finally the
10:20final cause, the idea that change is
10:22always determined by a certain purpose.
10:26These four causes can be easily
10:28understood with an example. Let's think
10:31, for instance, of a sculptor creating
10:33a marble statue of the God Apollo. Here
10:37we have a formal cause, which is the
10:39shape of the God itself; a material
10:41cause, which is the marble, which can
10:43be modified into the shape it takes; an
10:45efficient cause, the sculptor who works
10:48on the initial block of marble to give
10:50it a different form; and a final cause,
10:52the motive for which the sculptor sets
10:54to work, which in this specific case
10:56could be, for example, to worship the
10:59God. Among the various causes,
11:03according to Aristotle, the most
11:04important is the final one, as it is
11:06what effectively determines the
11:07beginning of change. The third pillar
11:14of Aristotelian physics is the
11:16description of the cosmos as unique,
11:19finite, and eternal. This description
11:22derives from the teleological approach
11:24we saw earlier. In this case, in fact,
11:27the basic idea is that the universe is
11:29perfect and to be such it must
11:30necessarily possess these three
11:32characteristics. In this universe, the
11:35Earth is placed at the center in a
11:37geocentric perspective. Around it, the
11:40celestial bodies rotate following
11:42circular orbits, circular because they
11:45themselves are perfect. Another
11:48fundamental point is that for Aristotle
11:50, the terrestrial world and the
11:52celestial one are composed of different
11:54elements. The celestial world is
11:56composed of Aether, an incorruptible
11:59matter, weightless and transparent. The
12:02terrestrial world is instead composed
12:04of the four traditional elements: water
12:07, air, earth, and fire. In this
12:10composition, there is no vacuum, as for
12:12example Democritus maintained, so
12:14movement is explained according to the
12:16theory of natural places. According to
12:20this theory formulated by Aristotle,
12:22celestial bodies move in a circular
12:24manner because they move within the
12:26aether. Terrestrial bodies, on the
12:28other hand, move either upwards or
12:30downwards based on the place that
12:32naturally belongs to them. Let's
12:34explain. The various elements have
12:37different weights, from fire which is
12:39lighter and therefore makes up the
12:40atmosphere, to Earth which is the
12:42heaviest and is therefore at the lowest
12:44point. The various entities go,
12:47according to Aristotle, to rejoin the
12:49place that belongs to them. The bodies
12:51themselves, in fact, are composed of
12:54these four elements and they rejoin the
12:56layer that best belongs to them. To
12:59take a simple example, if we hold a
13:01rock and open our hand, it doesn't fall
13:03due to gravity, but because it
13:05naturally belongs to the Earth, which,
13:07being the lowest layer in the
13:09arrangement of the four elements,
13:11attracts the rock downward. Aristotle's
13:18cosmological vision concludes with the
13:21demonstration that the universe
13:23requires a first unmoved mover. Let’s
13:26try to understand what this means. The
13:28basic idea is that everything that
13:30moves and changes does not move or
13:32change by itself, but is activated by
13:34something else. This means there is a
13:36chain of causes that can be traced
13:39backward. However, this chain logically
13:42cannot be infinite, and if it cannot be
13:44infinite, it means there must be a
13:47starting point. Therefore, there must
13:50be a substance that is not moved by
13:52anything else, that is, a substance
13:55that is an uncaused cause. In other
13:59words, a primary substance that causes
14:01the movement of others but is not
14:03itself caused, or set in motion, by
14:05anything else. This substance is called
14:09by Aristotle the unmoved mover. The
14:12term clarifies what Aristotle means.
14:16This substance is the first mover, the
14:18primary agent of movement, but it is
14:20unmoved, meaning it is not in motion.
14:23However, we have a problem here.
14:25Everything endowed with matter must
14:27necessarily change, as we have already
14:28seen with the four causes of becoming.
14:31This mover, instead, is unmoved, which
14:33means it has no matter. At this point,
14:36Aristotle has identified an immaterial
14:39substance that does not change. This
14:42means the unmoved mover cannot be
14:44studied by physics and will instead be
14:46studied by metaphysics. So, Aristotle
14:49will return to this in later treatises.
14:56Before moving on to the study of
14:58philosophy, Aristotle concludes his
15:00physics works by studying living beings
15:02. This means that in his physics,
15:05Aristotle also deals with biology. All
15:08living beings have in common, according
15:10to Aristotle, the possession of a soul.
15:13Therefore, psychology—the study of
15:15the soul—is also part of physics.
15:18According to Aristotle, the soul is
15:20inseparable from the body, unlike what
15:22Plato maintained. In fact, Aristotle
15:25defines the soul as the form of the
15:27body, which is what organizes the body
15:29itself. If the soul organizes the body,
15:32it means it determines its vital
15:34functions. These functions are mainly
15:38three: the nutritive function, the
15:40appetitive function, and the
15:43intellective function. The souls of
15:45plants possess only the first function,
15:48animals possess the first two, but only
15:50the human soul possesses all three
15:52functions. Intellectual knowledge is
15:56therefore what distinguishes man and
15:58what makes possible the transition from
16:01sensory knowledge, which occurs thanks
16:03to the appetitive function, to rational
16:05knowledge. Let us explain. Sensory
16:08knowledge is what allows us to perceive
16:11any entity, for example, a man.
16:13Rational knowledge is what allows us to
16:16understand the nature of an entity,
16:18that is, the understanding of his being
16:21a man, and allows us to arrive at
16:23producing universal concepts, the
16:25concepts we saw in the part dedicated
16:28to logic. Let's conclude this
16:33discussion on Aristotle's physical
16:34vision. This, in fact, conditions the
16:37way the universe is conceived, at least
16:39until the scientific revolution of the
16:4117th century that would overturn
16:43Aristotelian axioms and establish
16:44modern science. The foundations on
16:47which the Aristotelian vision rests are
16:48three in particular. The first is the
16:50teleological approach, according to
16:52which the functioning of nature is
16:53determined by its purpose. Nothing
16:55happens by chance. Secondly, a
16:57cosmological vision based on the idea
16:59that the universe is finite, the
17:01movements of celestial bodies are
17:03circular, a vacuum does not exist, and
17:05the Earth is placed at the center of
17:07this totality. Thirdly, we have the
17:10idea that the universe is composed of
17:12fixed and immutable natural species,
17:14each endowed with its own essence that
17:16determines its functioning. In a series
17:22of treatises that in the first century
17:25BC would be collected under the title
17:27of Metaphysics, Aristotle studies
17:29philosophy, which he defines as the
17:31first science because it studies the
17:33causes and primary principles, the most
17:36general causes of all reality. Besides
17:39being the first science, Aristotelian
17:41philosophy can also be defined as
17:43metaphysics, as it studies what is
17:46beyond nature as matter, or ontology,
17:48as it studies being. The main themes
17:52addressed by Aristotelian metaphysics
17:54are the concept of categories, the
17:56concept of substance, the concepts of
17:59potency and act, and the prime unmoved
18:01mover. The starting point of
18:15Aristotle's ontological reflection is
18:17that being does not have just one form.
18:20We can find this aspect first of all in
18:22language; think of the many different
18:25ways we use the verb to be. Yes,
18:27different ways give rise first of all
18:30to what Aristotle defines as categories
18:32, which are the different possibilities
18:35of expressing being. To give an example
18:37, one of the categories is that of
18:39place. Indeed, we can say that
18:41so-and-so is in Paris, or is in Rome,
18:43is at the beach, and so on. Another
18:45possible category is that of acting,
18:47which is performing a certain action.
18:49One can in fact say that Gaius is
18:51standing or that he is sitting. The
18:53common characteristic of these
18:54categories is that they are accidental.
18:57This means that they are not necessary
18:59to define someone or something. If we
19:03say "so-and-so is in Paris," being in
19:05Paris in this sentence does not define
19:08their essence; they are certainly
19:10somewhere, accidentally, or momentarily
19:13in Paris. This leads us to the second
19:17theme, the concept of substance, which
19:19is a second and more essential
19:21manifestation of being. By substance,
19:34we mean the essence, that is, what is
19:36necessary to an entity, defining an
19:39entity as that which possesses
19:41existence. Conversely, the categories
19:44we were discussing are the accidents of
19:47the substance. Returning to the
19:49previous example, we can say that "
19:52so-and-so" is the substance, while
19:54being in Paris is the accident of this
19:56substance. Thus, we can define
19:59substance as what is, while we define
20:02accidents as what they are in relation
20:05to the substance. In other words,
20:08substance is the necessary category,
20:10whose essence does not change with the
20:12shifting of accidents. Not
20:15coincidentally, Aristotle uses the term
20:17ousia for substance, which literally
20:19means "that which is beneath," as the
20:21substance is the foundation for
20:23potential accidents. Substance, in
20:26other words, is the concrete individual
20:29as such. To describe the essence of
20:31substance, Aristotle uses the term
20:33hylomorphism or "synolon." Synolon
20:35means the union of matter and form. The
20:38essence of a substance, therefore, is
20:40that it is inevitably determined by
20:42having a certain matter and possessing
20:44a certain form. This form is in turn
20:47linked to the species. A person, for
20:49example, has the form of a human being
20:51because they belong to the human
20:52species. Form and matter are
20:54inseparable from each other, but
20:56Aristotle argues that the form is the
20:58more important of the two. We can
21:01understand this through a simple
21:02example. The material clay can take the
21:05form, for example, of a vase or a plate
21:07; thus, it is the form that gives
21:09identity to the matter. To conclude
21:11this discussion, a clarification is
21:13important. To speak of form, Aristotle
21:15often uses the term eidos, which is the
21:18same word Plato habitually uses to
21:20speak of ideas. The word itself,
21:23however, has a different value tied to
21:25their differing philosophical
21:26conceptions. In Plato, ideas are
21:29separate from bodies and have
21:31autonomous existence, whereas in
21:34Aristotle, form exists only insofar as
21:36it is linked to a body, so there is no
21:39independent ideal plane. Having
21:52established that substance is a synolon
21:54of matter and form, Aristotle asks how
21:56it is possible for a substance—in
21:59itself necessary and not accidental—
22:01to change; for example, how an infant
22:03becomes a boy and then an adult, and so
22:06on. To explain change, Aristotle
22:08resorts to the concepts of potentiality
22:10and actuality. By actuality, we mean
22:13what a synolon is currently at a given
22:16moment. By potentiality, we mean the
22:19capacity that a composite substance has
22:21to change. Taking the previous example,
22:24clay is the matter, thus the
22:26possibility it has of being molded into
22:28a certain shape. Therefore, the clay is
22:31the potentiality. When the clay takes
22:33the form of a plate, it is in a state
22:35of actuality as a plate. The transition
22:37from potentiality to actuality is a
22:38fundamental theme because it concerns
22:40the becoming of being. Becoming, in
22:42fact, is described by Aristotle not as
22:44a passage from non-being to being,
22:46which, as Parmenides had already
22:48established, is impossible, but as a
22:50passage from potentiality to actuality.
22:53In this sense, change is something
22:55inherent in the very nature of
22:57substance, and therefore of being.
23:00Between actuality and potentiality,
23:02Aristotle assigns a logical priority to
23:04actuality. This is because it is what a
23:07thing currently is that determines its
23:09potential. Let's take a very simple
23:11example. An adult in actuality cannot
23:14potentially become a child. The
23:23discussion on the possible forms of
23:26being concludes with the description of
23:28the unmoved mover. Its existence had
23:30already been identified by Aristotle in
23:33the part dedicated to physics, but its
23:35description occurs in metaphysics,
23:37given the immutable nature of the mover
23:39. How is it, in fact, possible for the
23:41mover to be unmoved? The explanation
23:43Aristotle gives himself is that it is
23:45devoid of matter and is therefore pure
23:47form. In other words, it is pure
23:49actuality, without potentiality. As
23:52pure form, this mover is totally
23:54abstract, and therefore can be
23:55described as thought. If we carry these
23:59premises to their conclusion, we can
24:01define the mover as eternal and perfect
24:04. In other terms, we can define it as a
24:07God. But be careful, this unmoved mover
24:10has nothing to do with the later
24:12Christian God; while the Christian God
24:15creates the world, thus using
24:16Aristotelian terminology as the
24:18efficient cause of nature, the
24:20Aristotelian God is pure thought that
24:22thinks exclusively of itself because it
24:25is perfect. Therefore, it is not the
24:28unmoved mover that creates the movement
24:30of the other heavens, but rather the
24:31various heavens themselves, which,
24:33attracted by love for its perfection,
24:35activate their movement. Thus, the
24:37unmoved mover is not an efficient cause
24:40, but the final cause of the universe.
24:48At the beginning of his treatises on
24:50metaphysics, Aristotle explains that
24:52first philosophy deals with studying
24:55being as being, substance, God, and the
24:57first principles of things. Having
25:00reached this point, we can see the
25:01metaphysical conclusions that Aristotle
25:03arrives at. By being as being,
25:06Aristotle refers to reality as a whole,
25:09whose manifestations are manifold.
25:11Categories, substance, potentiality,
25:14and actuality. By substance, Aristotle
25:16refers in particular to the composite
25:18substance. By God, on the other hand,
25:21he refers to the unmoved mover. By
25:24first principles, Aristotle refers to
25:27the foundations of being: the principle
25:29of non-contradiction, established by
25:31logic; the principle of causality, base
25:34of the transition from potential to act
25:36, where everything is caused by
25:38something else; and the principle of
25:41purpose, which drives change, as
25:44everything tends to reach its perfect
25:47form. After his philosophical works,
25:55Aristotle turns to what he defines as
25:58practical sciences, which concern human
26:00action. By this term, Aristotle
26:04includes what we now see as two
26:06distinct aspects: ethics, which studies
26:09individual action, and politics, which
26:11studies collective action. However, the
26:16two are closely connected for Aristotle
26:19, who believes the ultimate goal of
26:21human action is happiness, but true
26:23happiness is not achieved individually,
26:26but rather in association with others.
26:30In fact, Aristotle defines man as a
26:32political animal. Regarding ethics,
26:40Aristotle begins with the observation
26:42that man always acts toward a goal, but
26:45every individual goal eventually moves
26:48toward an ultimate end, defined by
26:51Aristotle as the supreme good. This
26:55supreme good is the happiness that can
26:57be concretely achieved in life. Given
27:01this premise, we must ask: what does
27:03human happiness consist of? The answer
27:07is that happiness consists in the
27:09exercise of reason, as reason is the
27:12distinctive trait of man. The exercise
27:15of reason makes man virtuous and,
27:17therefore, happy. Virtue, however, is
27:20not singular. Since man has both an
27:23appetitive part, which follows
27:25instincts, and a rational part,
27:27Aristotle divides virtues into two main
27:30categories. Ethical virtues, where
27:34reason manages to dominate the
27:37appetitive part, and dianoetic virtues,
27:40which consist of the exercise of reason
27:43itself. Aristotle identifies a series
27:52of possible ethical virtues and argues
27:54that to determine a virtuous attitude,
27:57one must apply the principle of the
27:59golden mean between extremes. For
28:02example, courage is a virtue because it
28:04is the golden mean between being
28:06reckless and being cowardly. Aristotle
28:09lists a series of virtues, but
28:11establishes that justice is the most
28:14important, as it means acting in a just
28:16manner. For this reason, justice is
28:19both a particular virtue and a
28:21synthesis of all virtues. Aristotle
28:24identifies two possible forms of
28:26justice. Distributive justice, by which
28:29we mean the distribution of goods. In
28:32this sense, complete distributive
28:34justice is that which rewards people
28:36proportionally for their merits. Then
28:39we have commutative justice, which is,
28:41instead, corrective in nature. For
28:44example, in the face of a crime, action
28:47must be corrected through a
28:48proportional penalty. Justice,
28:51therefore, lies in establishing the
28:53right punishment for the crime
28:54committed. Law must be founded on these
28:58two forms of justice, ensuring that
29:01respect for the law produces virtuous
29:03behavior. As for the dianoetic virtues,
29:11those concerning the development of
29:14reason, Aristotle ranks wisdom at the
29:17top. By wisdom, Aristotle means the
29:21ability to combine the intuitive
29:23capacity to grasp first principles with
29:25the demonstrative capacity to make
29:27deductions. Since wisdom is the
29:30preeminent dianoetic virtue, and since
29:33dianoetic virtues best characterize
29:36humanity by involving the pure exercise
29:39of reason, wisdom is the highest human
29:42virtue and the one that allows for the
29:45supreme good: happiness. From this
29:48point of view, the contemplative life,
29:51linked to the development of
29:52intelligence, is the ideal model to
29:54which man must aspire. This discussion
30:02is closely linked to the political
30:04discourse. The contemplative life, in
30:07fact, is only possible if the
30:08individual is part of a properly
30:11functioning community that provides
30:13citizens with necessary material goods.
30:16At this point, one must therefore ask
30:18what the most adequate political form
30:20is. Aristotle rejects the Platonic
30:23discourse of the ideal state as it is
30:25not attainable. For this reason,
30:28Aristotle studies the various concrete
30:31forms of government in search of the
30:33most realistic solution. Aristotle
30:37identifies three possible regimes: rule
30:41by one, rule by a few, and rule by many
30:44. Each of these possible regimes has a
30:47positive and negative form based on
30:49whether the government acts for the
30:51common good or not. Regarding the rule
30:54of one, we have tyranny on the one hand
30:57, the degeneration of monarchy, as this
30:59government is established for the sole
31:02benefit of the despot. Regarding the
31:06rule of the few, the positive form is
31:08aristocracy, while the negative is
31:09oligarchy, since aristocracy is the
31:11rule of the best, while oligarchy is
31:13the rule of the wealthy. Regarding the
31:17rule of the many, Aristotle
31:18distinguishes between a moderate
31:20republic and a democracy. For a
31:23moderate republic, Aristotle uses the
31:25term Politeia. By this term, Aristotle
31:28means a type of regime where government
31:31offices are open to the best, or
31:33aristocrats, but where decisions are
31:35made by the citizens. This model
31:38functions well when there is a large
31:40middle class that prevents the excesses
31:43of both the rich and the poor. As for
31:45democracy, Aristotle considers it a
31:47degenerate form that results in a
31:49tyranny of the poor, because power is
31:52seized by demagogues, or what Aristotle
31:54disparagingly calls flatterers of the
31:56people. The body of Aristotelian works.
32:16It concludes with the treatises
32:17dedicated to the productive sciences,
32:19meaning in particular rhetoric, the art
32:21of producing persuasive speeches, and
32:23poetics, the art of producing poetry.
32:34Rhetoric is the art of persuading an
32:36audience regarding a certain topic.
32:39Just as we saw with logical dialectics,
32:42rhetoric can also make use of the
32:44syllogism, but this time it is not a
32:46scientific syllogism, but a rhetorical
32:48one. The substantial difference is that
32:52the scientific syllogism starts from
32:55true premises, while the rhetorical one
32:57starts from premises generally held to
32:59be true, or accepted as such by the
33:02majority. Aristotle identifies three
33:04possible types of rhetorical speeches.
33:07The first is the deliberative genre,
33:09which consists of convincing a
33:11political assembly to make decisions.
33:13Here we are in the sphere of speeches
33:16intended to influence the future. Then
33:19we have the epideictic genre, a genre
33:22aimed at praising or criticizing a
33:25certain person. So here we are in the
33:27sphere of the present. And finally, we
33:30have the judicial genre, the genre that
33:32arises to defend or accuse a defendant.
33:35Here, therefore, we are dealing with
33:37events concerning the past. Regardless
33:40of the genre in which the orator is
33:42engaged, they are called upon to
33:44persuade their listeners by taking
33:46their passions into account. As the
33:49philosopher says, things do not look
33:51the same to those who love as they do
33:53to those who hate, but appear quite
33:55different. With the term poetry,
34:08Aristotle includes epic, lyric, and
34:10drama. The peculiarity of poetic
34:13production is that it imitates reality.
34:16Imitation, however, does not mean
34:18copying, but rather staging a
34:20dramatization of human passions. For
34:23Aristotle, poetic production therefore
34:26has a strong value. The spectator or
34:29reader who is confronted with the
34:31imitation of life can learn from it.
34:35According to Aristotle, a particular
34:38value is held by tragedy, as through it
34:41the spectator can observe what an
34:43uncontrolled passion can produce and
34:46thus free themselves from it,
34:48undergoing a catharsis; they can
34:50identify with the events staged and be
34:53purified through the representation.
34:57This process concludes with learning
35:00that occurs precisely through these
35:03steps, so the ultimate value of tragedy
35:06is that it is a source of knowledge.
35:12Hey

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Tutto il pensiero di Aristotele in mezz'ora by Pillole di Storia, Filosofia e..., generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 4,715 words across 786 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.