The Best Life in Aristotle’s Politics

It is often emphasized that the Athenians viewed philosophy as essentially apolitical or anti-political. Placed in this context, Aristotle’s Politics 7.1–7.3 deserves special attention because here Aristotle presents his argument on the best life for ‘each human being (ἑκάστῳ τε τῶν ἀνθρώπων) and commonly for cities and human beings (κοινῇ ταῖς πόλεσι καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις)’, which culminates in his conclusion that ‘the same life (τὸν αὐτὸν βίον)’ is the best for them (Pol. 7.3.1325b30–32). This paper attempts to show that ‘the same life’ does not mean a life consisting of activity of the same content but rather of the same type or kind, and that Aristotle semantically differentiates between ἑκάστῳ τε τῶν ἀνθρώπων and τοῖς ἀνθρώποις and assigns a sphere of philosophy to the former and a sphere of politics to the latter, which helps him mitigate the tension between the philosophical life and the political life.