Post-Aristotelianism and the Specters of Monolingualism

ABSTRACT Various efforts to desediment the universality of Aristotelian thought suggest that we are in the “time” of post-Aristotelianism. Yet, is it possible to be post-Aristotelian if the reception, and even the subsequent critique, of Aristotelianism has been based not on Aristotle per se but on translations of Aristotle? The imperative, as we argue, is to not look beyond Aristotle but to approach Aristotle as a monolingualized specter—a presumed foundational presence not based in actuality. Adopting this perspective, we compare extant translations of Aristotle’s Politics and Rhetoric in order to foreground the hermeneutic precarity upon which post-Aristotelianism is premised. This essay thus offers not an endorsement or even a critique of post-Aristotelianism but aims to unsettle “Aristotle” as a cohesive figure or body of work to which we respond, the agreed-upon grounds of canonization or rejection. In this way, we highlight the field of rhetoric’s contingency on translational realities.