Generosity and Property in Aristotle's Politics

Bibliographic Data

ID23142016
AuthorsT H Irwin, Terence Irwin (Cornell University, corresponding author)
Year1987
Volume4
Issue2
Pages37-54
Publication date1987-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Philosophy and Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-0525 • E-ISSN: 1471-6437
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0265052500000534
OpenAlexW1994902127
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited1

Etymology might encourage us to begin a discussion of Aristotle on philanthropy with a discussion of philanthropia ; and it is instructive to see why this is not quite the right place to look. The Greek term initially refers to a generalized attitude of kindness and consideration for a human being. The gods accuse Prometheus of being a ‘human-lover’, intending the term in an unfavorable sense, when he confers on human beings the benefits that should have been confined to the gods. Aristotle uses the abstract noun only once, to refer to sympathetic fellow-feeling ( Rhet. 1390a18–23); and he mentions our feeling of kinship with other human beings to explain our approval of the philanthropos person ( Eth. Nic. 1155a16–21). Philanthropia is the attitude of a kind and considerate person, even if she lacks material resources, and it can be displayed without the transfer of material resources.

Aesthetics · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Etymology · Feeling · Generosity · Kindness · Kinship · Linguistics · Obligation · Political science · Politics · Property (philosophy) · Sociology · Theology · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology