 Hi, my name is Monty Johnson. I teach philosophy at the University of California, San Diego And this is the second of two lectures on Aristotle's politics book 7 this one on chapters 8 to 17 Which is about the formal parts and final ends of the perfect state Now to remind you of where we are in book 7 having discussed the background considerations for the examination of the best Political system as well as the material prerequisites of the perfect state Aristotle moves in these chapters to discuss the formal parts of the perfect state and its final ends which Create a transition into his discussion of education, which will take him through Book 8 by the way, I'm using the translation By Benjamin Jowett Oxford 1921 which is in the public domain So the formal parts of the perfect state Aristotle begins in chapter 8 by discussing general principles He says quote as in other natural compounds the conditions of a composite whole are not necessarily Organic parts of it. So in a state or in any other combination forming a unity not everything is a part Which is a necessary condition. Okay, so we have to distinguish between parts proper parts organic parts of the state and the conditions that allow those parts to hang together and exist as a unity and Property in general Aristotle considers a condition of the state not a part of it including living property so-called living property Slaves all property really all of the possessions buildings furniture and so forth of the state but also the Things that are necessary to sustain the state including living people working for it May be conditions of the state while not actually being proper parts of it in the sense of being citizens He says and so states require property but property even though living beings are included in it Is no part of the state for a state is not a community of living beings only but a community of equals Aiming at the best life possible So the citizens are treated as equals in the best state and all of those citizens have a common good and a common aim Which is living the best life possible? But that requires other living beings other people In their community which are not actually part of their community Now Aristotle says the differences in constitutions exist because of differences in the qualities of citizens and in their Conceptions of the good life Whereas happiness is the highest good being a realization and a perfect practice of virtue Which some can attain while others have little or none of it The various qualities of men are clearly the reason why there are various kinds of states and many forms of government For different men seek after happiness in different ways and by different means and so make for themselves Different modes of life and forms of government Now Aristotle is going to have one in mind that he thinks is the things is the best and the best means And that's mostly what he's describing but of course there are a diversity of states that we see and There may be disagreement about which of those states is really the best and has the best ends and means that it's pursuing and the differences in those Conceptions are a subtle things for the basis for the real differences that exist between states Now first we have a account of the formal parts of the perfect state six necessary parts that it must have So first obviously there must be food unless there must be producers of food like farmers and husband men Second there have to be arts and crafts for life requires many instruments as he says and thus will need artisans Mechanics and so forth and producers of various kinds Third we need arms for quote the members of a community have needed them and in their own hands too in order to maintain Authority both against disobedient subjects and against external assailants Thus we need sort of warriors and policemen and Aristotle ultimately sees these as being the same thing armed citizenry Fourthly he says you need a certain amount of revenue both for the internal needs and for purposes of war That is for protecting the state and thus since you need revenue and money You need wealthy people so you can't have the ideal state consists of all poor people or probably You can't even have a perfect state consisting all of equally Wealthy people or a subtle doesn't seem to envision that though they're equal in other respects in political respects Fifthly he says or rather first there must be a care of religion unless there have to be priests Sixthly and most necessary of all there must be a power of deciding What is for the public interest and what is just in men's dealings with one another and thus there must be? Judges and also there must be counselors to deliberate with but this is essentially Where Aristotle is indicating the necessary presence of statesmen people practicing political authority and for the most Important things especially deciding what's in the public interest and what is just Finally there are services which every state may be said to need for a state These are the services for which Every state may be said to have a need for a state is not a mere aggregate of persons But a union of them that suffices for the purposes of life and if any of these things be wanting It is as we maintain Impossible that the community can be absolutely self-sufficing a state Then should be framed with a view to the fulfillment of these functions So these six functions are the absolutely mission critical functions of every State and Aristotle simplifies the rest of his analysis of politics by focusing on How these the people that correspond to these necessary formal parts of the perfect state interact So that leads to a discussion of occupations and social roles in the perfect state and In general the question should all people share in every sort of occupation as Aristotle Puts it shall every man be at once a husband man artisan counselor and judge or Shall we suppose the several occupations just mentioned assigned to different persons or Thirdly shall some employments be assigned to individuals and others common to all An Aristotle gives both a descriptive answer and a normative answer The descriptive answer is that quote the same arrangement does not occur in every constitution All may be shared by all or not all by all But only by some and hence arise the differences of constitutions for in democracies All share and all in oligarchies the opposite practice prevails. So again differences in constitution reflect different concepts of How these occupations should be shared or not shared should be common or not common So Aristotle is here discussing the best and most perfect states So he also Offers a normative answer to the question saying quote now since we are here speaking of the best form of government Ie that under which the state will be most happy and happiness as has already been said cannot exist without virtue It clearly follows that in the state, which is best governed and possesses men who are just absolutely and not merely Relatively to the principle of the Constitution the citizens must not lead the life of mechanics or tradesmen for such a life is ignoble and inimical to virtue Neither must they be husband men since leisure is necessary both for the development of virtue and the performance of political duties So here is a famous famous passage in which Aristotle excludes all of the mechanics tradesmen farmers husbands men and so forth from his being citizens of his ideal state and on the grounds that They have to be busy producing things for the sake of the citizens so that they can cultivate education and virtues So the net this leads into a discussion of the reduction and exclusion of Certain classes from the citizenry So he begins by arguing that the class of warriors and counselors should be identical Now this is an important passage he says quote since it is an impossible thing that those who are able to use or resist force Should be willing to remain always in the subjection from this point of view the persons are the same for those who? carry arms can always determine the fate of the Constitution It remains therefore that both functions should be entrusted by the ideal Constitution to the same persons Not however at the same time but in the order prescribed by nature who is given to young men Strength and older men wisdom such a distribution of duties will be expedient and also just and is founded upon a principle of conformity to merit So the warriors and the counselors will be the same Aristotle does not imagine a separate class of people ordering a lower or a higher class of people to Go do the fighting for the state rather the people who participate in the state and are the citizens the ones who have the biggest Stake in its survival and stability will be the people who are armed and who defend it even in the event of Foreign war so very different than the modern situation, but you can see How Aristotle's citizens are not just an elite class who's exempt from all kinds of work They're expected to do all of the political work in the state and to defend it with their lives both against internal and external enemies so since they have to be able to Defend in the state and conduct all of that political business Aristotle says this class of warriors and counselors should also be the property owners quote For they are citizens and the citizens of the state should be in good circumstances Whereas mechanics or any other class which is not a producer of virtue have no share in the state This follows from our first principle for happiness cannot exist without virtue And a city is not to be turned happy in regard to a portion of the citizens, but in regard to them all So they need The property to be able to conduct the business of state and to defend the state Finally Aristotle takes it as obvious that priests should not be appointed from the lower classes But from the same class of warriors counselors and property Holders and that seems to presuppose because priests have to have some outlay and have to contribute money and property to the religious services So the result is that we can distinguish two main classes first the warriors counselors judges and priests that is the citizens and second the Farmers husbandmen craftsmen laborers producers the working class the first class the warriors politicians and priests are considered the parts of the state and thus citizens The second group the working class that makes all of that possible are considered the conditions for the perfect state, but not technically parts of it now This then leads to a discussion of class land and property and Aristotle says that Political institutions relating to class divisions are ancient. This is so as to make them appear natural customary Legal Aristotle observes that social classes and distinctions Existed as far back as ancient Egypt and Crete So as far back as the evidence that he has access to points the institution of common tables and meals for certain classes is ancient Aristotle is Fairly traditional or conservative even regarding the preservation of such things saying quote It is true indeed that these and many other things have been invented several times over in the courses of Ages or rather times without number for necessity may be supposed to have taught men the inventions Which were absolutely required and then when these were provided It was natural that other things which would adorn and enrich life should grow up by degrees And we may infer that in political institutions the same rule holds We should therefore make the best use of what has already been discovered and try to supply defects so end of quotation Aristotle has a cyclical view of History of the rise and fall of political institutions and he thinks these class divisions are a constant Feature of those and so they are in accordance with nature Thus he would refine and revise them possibly using techniques of political science and The arts and crafts to imitate or fill in where nature falls short But he certainly would not Advocate eliminating them that is eliminating class distinctions similarly his approach to property and land distribution is much more conservative than say play does Which we saw he made clear in book two According to Aristotle some land however should be public But some should remain private there needs to be sufficient resources to support common meals At least for the ruling class and to support their religious worship and services including large expensive periodic festivals Aristotle thinks that land in the city and the country should be divided so that some of it is public And some private in each physical part of the city in order to facilitate such public goods Now in this context Aristotle discusses not just land but also labor and he advocates both public and private ownership of Slaves saying quote the very best thing of all would be that the husbandmen should be slaves Taken from a man among men who are not all of the same race not spirited for if they have no spirit They would be better suited for their work, and there will be no danger of their making a revolution The next best thing would be that they should be Peri-oike of a foreign race and of a like inferior nature Some of them should be the slaves of individuals and employed in the private estates of men of property The remainder should be the property of the state and employed on the common land That's the end of the quotation now the reference to Making sure that the races of your Working class and producing class are mixed and are of a certain kind so that they won't Be prone to revolution seems to presuppose a kind of colonizing situation where You would be taking over a new Area with various kinds of people being brought into it or removed from it or or whatever Again, the context seems to be something like colonization Now Aristotle goes on to discuss measures for health and security planning of the perfect state Saying we have already said that the city should be open to the land into the sea and to the whole country as far as possible In respect of the place it is Itself our wishes that its situation should be fortunate in four things Those four things are one very interesting water and air quality This Aristotle says is of course important for health and he's very concerned about environmental Contamination saying quote special care should be taken of the health of the inhabitants Which will depend chiefly on the healthiness of the locality and the quarter to which they are exposed and Secondly on the use of pure water this latter point is by no means a secondary consideration For the elements which we use most and often as for the support of the body contribute most to help and among these Are water and air Wherefore in all wise states if there is want of pure water and the supply is not all equally good The drinking water ought to be separated from that which is used for other purposes and of quote so concerned about Contamination of the water supply concerned about pollution of water and air how it might be in the region in general But also in different quarters of the city and the plans must be made for this Also, he discusses strongholds their best location whether it should be on an acropolis or on a plane depends Mainly on the kind of constitution the arrangement of private houses. There are various considerations Regular layouts are more convenient and aesthetically pleasing but less secure Against military attack for example, so Aristotle recommends a kind of mixed arrangement of regular and irregular layout finally walls Aristotle Or argues at length to refute the claim that it's no longer militarily necessary to have city walls but he also adds that care should be taken to make them ornamental as well as useful for warlike purposes and adapted to resist modern inventions, which seems to be a reference to siege machines and weapons Again, it's interesting that Aristotle is concerned to balance both security and aesthetics Aristotle also argues that religious buildings should have the loftiest location to give due elevation to virtue So at the kind of acropolis of the city should be religious buildings like temples beneath that should be the markets first a Free market and beneath that somewhere a trader's market The free market should be established somewhere below the high spot reserve for religious buildings So he says quote below this spot should be established in Agra or market Such as that which the Thessalians call the free men's market or free market From this all trade should be excluded and no mechanic husband men or any such person should be allowed to enter Unless he is summoned by the magistrates There should also be a trader's Agra or Traders market Distinct and apart from the other in a situation which is convenient for the reception of goods both by sea and land The upper Agra we devote to the life of leisure the other is intended for the necessities of trade so this is about a little bit ironic given our Contemporary terminology for Aristotle the free market is one in which trade does not take place at all People are free from dealing with business and perhaps even politics And it's just where the citizens can associate on a completely free basis business and trading and Even the offices the main offices of the government will be located beneath that Agra closer to the traders Agra And Aristotle says that Arrangements also have to be made for the countryside but he indicates it would be tedious to provide too many details Now in the 13th chapter he discusses Happiness and how it relates to external goods because he moves to a discussion of the final end of the perfect state The previous chapters have really been about how the different parts of the state the necessary parts are Related to each other and how they interact and so how they hang together how they form a unity now Aristotle discusses the final end of that unity and of course overall its happiness But that requires some external goods all arts and sciences have to comprehend both the ends of their arts and The means to those ends and so too political science has to ascertain the nature of happiness since that's the end of political science of Course by the same token Political science must comprehend the means to that end But before getting to that point Aristotle says that not everyone can attain this end Quote the happiness and well-being which all men manifestly desire Some have the power of attaining but to others from some accident or defect of nature The attainment of them is not granted for a good life requires a supply of external goods In a less degree when men are in a good state in a greater degree when they are in a lower state So here again the depressing point that Aristotle thinks not all people are capable of happiness or well-being He attributes that either to accident or to a deficiency of nature But he doesn't really envision art or science the political art or political science being able to make good that defect of nature to Imitate nature or fill in where it falls short so that everybody can be happy rather Because he always sees a limited supply of external goods that can possibly be produced That there will always be people that have to work on producing those so that some smaller group of them can Attain the end of all political science that is happiness now in Discussing his definition of happiness. He refers Basically to the account that he gives in the Yudhimean ethics and we even refers to that work quote We maintain and have said in the ethics if the arguments they're adduced are of any value that happiness is the realization and perfect exercise of virtue and This not conditional but absolute conditional here means Indispensable to some other end while absolute means the thing is a good in itself So external goods such as land and wealth are only conditionally good They are indispensable perhaps, but they're not goods in themselves While happiness is good in itself He says a good man may make the best even of poverty and disease and the Other ills of life, but he can only attain happiness under the opposite conditions So can make the best of it into that situation, but we're discussing the best state So that's the one in which they attain happiness. So poverty and disease Must not be a prominent feature and in fact the opposites of these kinds of ills will have to be assumed Because those things Destroy and exclude happiness people mistakenly think that external goods which can counteract them to some extent are the cause of happiness Aristotle treats them as being a cause but only in the sense of being something Indispensable a material cause but not as the final cause or an end in itself The last interesting thing to point out about that quote is that Aristotle thinks that if The people are in a good state They actually require less external goods than they do when they're in a worse state So that's because they are exercising the virtue of moderation and self-control and don't require more and greater Inputs and imports in order to satisfy their excessive desires Now a Final end of the perfect state is thus using science and education to basically Produce good-natured people and the state should be constituted to provide the Conditional goods that are necessary for this absolute good of virtue that is happiness whether it can do so is not entirely in any one particular person's power as He says quote and therefore we can only say may our state be Constituted in such a manner as to be blessed with the goods of which fortune disposes For we acknowledge her power whereas virtue and goodness in the state are not a matter of chance But the result of knowledge and purpose So this seems to be where Aristotle draw the line and argues that This can be enacted need not be presupposed but is a matter of Political science and the political art Now in the Nicomachean ethics Aristotle is actually relatively pessimistic about the possibility of using reason or argument Knowledge and intention and so forth or exhortation in order to make people virtuous He thinks they have to be naturally predisposed to it and they have to be habituated in it from a young age And that's not very common And so using reason or argument or exhortation is not good enough and the state must use punishments in order to Use the fact that most people are motivated by fear not shame and that will make them obey the law And that will improve them and make them better But here in the politics, it's very interesting that Aristotle is relatively optimistic about the possibility of reason Overcoming habit and nature. He says quote Wherefore nature habit and rational principle must be in harmony with one another for they do not always agree men do many things against habit and nature if Rational principle persuades them that they ought and that's one of the strongest claims of reason For Aristotle that it can actually line up and overcome both nature and habit Now Aristotle says that although the political scientist needs a supply of good Natured and well habituated people in order to form the perfect state He doesn't necessarily Simply presuppose that those exist and have nothing to say about further to say about their existence Because he may be able to produce some of them Owing to this fact that reason can overcome nature and habit Thus Aristotle says the next topic to be considered is Education quote we have already determined what natures are likely to be most easily molded by the hands of the legislator All else is the work of education. We learn some things by habit and some by instruction Now So it is an end of the perfect state to educate all for virtue But we need to know what kinds of virtues first of all, it's not obvious who should rule No one being so predominantly virtuous that all others so pale in comparison that they feel like just yielding politically to that person Quote it is obviously necessary on many grounds that all the citizens alike should take their turn in governing and being governed So in Aristotle's perfect state, there is no one predominant person or any predominant group among the citizens They are all Treated equally and all take turns governing and being governed and Aristotle points to The natural subordination of the young Which he thinks indicates that both ruling and being ruled is natural for human beings for no one objects Either to being ruled when himself young or to ruling another if he has children education of rulers and of ruled is in a way different, but also in a way the same for He who would learn to command well Aristotle says must first of all learn to obey In fact, he attributes that to a proverbial Statement he who would learn to command well must as they say first learn to obey So you learn to obey when you're young so that when you're older you And you learn to command you know what it means to obey and what can be expected of that And that's the natural course and all of the citizens will thus take turns ruling and being ruled obeying and being obeyed Now if free government as opposed to Desbitism is to work out the citizens have to be made good people Quote but since we say that the virtue of the citizen and the ruler is the same as that of the good man and That the same person must first be a subject and then a ruler the legislator has to see that they Become good men and by what means this may be accomplished and what is the end of the perfect life? so This is the clearest statement that the legislator has to see that they become good the citizens become good But the question is good in what respects so what virtues exactly are to be promoted now in order to explain that and So indicate the respects in which the citizens are to be made good by the legislator We have to consider the way that the soul is divided into what parts the soul is divided and Rank order the activities that correspond to this So as in the table the lowest part of the soul is the irrational part that he discusses here There actually is an even lower part that he discusses in his psychological works dealing merely with vegetative or nutritive functions But here Aristotle talks about the appetitive Desiderative emotional part that we share with other animals This relates to our nutrition and fitness as well as pleasant and painful activities but it is an inferior part of our soul and the activities that pertain to it Aristotle thinks in the case of Organisms like human beings that are more complex and have higher parts of the soul have a rational part of the soul All of the activities of this lower part are for the sake of that rational part now that rational part divides into Two parts a lower and an upper part the lower part being the practical Rational part the part where we exercise self-control courage justice generosity and so forth and here Is the scope of the moral virtues? it is Both inferior to the higher rational part of theoretical part, but it is superior to the Irrational part, but it undertakes in Aristotle's analysis its practical activity ultimately both for the sake of itself because Self-control temperance or moderation courage justice generosity and so forth are Themselves good things worth pursuing in and of themselves, but they are also undertaken for the sake of higher theoretical activities, so the final end of All of these according to this division of the soul is for the sake of the Theoretical rational part which engages in speculative reason and has scientific knowledge and Engages in the contemplation of nature and it's the domain of the intellectual virtues like Art craft skill nature in sight Knowledge and Wisdom This is the absolutely superior part of the soul and in Aristotle's analysis This is actually that for the sake of which the entire pyramid of political organization exists so that all of these parts of the soul can Be active and exercise in the right way so as to bring about virtues of this highest theoretical part Now that's only possible for some people For other people they will only be capable of cultivating the moral virtues although that's quite an accomplishment And that's a worthy goal of life the life of the politician is a good one Even if it's not absolutely the best so some in the city will have the absolutely best life Others will have a relatively pretty good life And then the rest of the people in the state will exist in order to provide the things Necessary to make the lifestyles of both of those people possible Now in discussing the final end of the perfect state Aristotle is careful to point out that peace and leisure are The ultimate ends and not war and business thus Aristotle criticizes the constitution of the spartans and the many contemporary writers Contemporary to him and predecessors of his who celebrate the spartan constitution Although sparta is reputed to be the best governed their laws are not framed with the best end in mind peace leisure intellectual activity moral virtue etc, but only for warlike virtues like glory and courage Quote these writers further error about the sort of government which the legislator should approve for the government of freemen Is nobler and implies more virtue than despotic government Neither is a city to be deemed happy or a legislator to be praised Because he trains the citizens to conquer and obtain dominion over their neighbors for their is great evil in this A point that he had also made earlier in book seven That one should Not pursue tyranny or despotic power and so in making this point Aristotle actually reiterates his criticism of Conventional slavery as it's mostly practiced in his own day So as in book one he offers not just a defense of a certain kind of slavery But also attack on the way that slavery Is mostly conducted in his day and age and he says quote Neither should men study war with the view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved But first of all They should be they should provide against their own enslavement and in the second place obtain Empire for the good of the governed and not for the sake of exercising a general Desbatism and in the third place they should seek to be masters only over those who deserve to be slaves unquote And again all military and other measures should be undertaken exclusively with the aim of providing Leisure and establishing peace Both facts and arguments he said Point to this conclusion The facts that he has in mind is an empirical observation about how short lived military states are or how miserable their populations are But the theoretical points are the ones we've just been through since the point of the state is to allow enough Leisure to give people time to cultivate the virtues. This is identical with living well So if they don't have peace they can't have that leisure But Aristotle also further discusses the importance of leisure itself making this point clear in chapter 15 He says quote since the end of individuals and of states is the same The end of the best manner of the best constitution must also be the same It is therefore evident that there ought to exist in both of them the virtues of leisure For peace as has often been repeated is the end of war and leisure of toil end of quote Now in addition to the intellectual virtues that are the absolute ends and goods of the perfect state certain moral virtues like courage and endurance are also considered valuable But in themselves and for the sake of providing the requisites for the perfect state Since many things must be provided for the perfect state to flourish Engagement in a certain amount of business and war will be necessary So these moral virtues pertaining to them like courage will remain important Thus even those in the perfect state where it is possible to engage in philosophy will require moral virtues like justice As Aristotle says quote those then who seem to be the best off And to be in the possession of every good have special need of justice and temperance for example those If such there be as the poets say who dwell in the islands of the blessed They above all will need philosophy and temperance and justice and all the more Leisure they have living in the midst of abundance. So interesting point that Aristotle Makes here that Not just in the case of scarcity, but even in abundance one requires justice and temperance if you have A lot of external goods then you especially need to Show self-control and moderation and justice and philosophy He often this point is made with reference to needing these virtues because of scarcity Here he says even in abundance. So even in the perfect state Now earlier we identified nature habit and reason as required for virtue Aristotle here asks whether education should primarily be focused on habit Or reason in order to make them both accord with nature And the answer is that education should actually be focused on both but at different stages Training of the body is for the sake of the soul, but should precede it Thus the young should first be trained with respect to their bodies And training of the appetites is for the sake of the rational part of the soul But should precede it thus the training of slightly older children should be focused on the moral virtues like courage and moderation And finally the training of the older Cohort the oldest children should be focused on the intellectual virtues like knowledge and science This account of education is guided by the Principle that in humans the rational principle in mind are the end towards which nature strives So that the birth and moral discipline of the citizens ought to be considered with a view to them So everything that follows is a discussion of how to produce humans in which the rational principle in mind Are developed as far as possible as far as human nature allows So he even goes into taking account of their birth Their earliest nurture and education and then in book eight discusses the education system in more detail But first he discusses how we even literally reproduce the citizens Three considerations about legislation on marriage are pro creative age The age of succession of parents And how the frames of newly born children may be molded Now Aristotle uses biological observations about other species to support his idea that procreation should be within a certain age range and neither too early nor too late Average life spans determine the naturally best age for marriage and procreation He takes males to have an average lifespan of about 70 years and females 50 years And so he reasons that the ideal age of marriage will be quote about 18 years of age for women and 37 for men These ages he takes to be their prime reproductive ages after which there will be a decline Aristotle argues that natural scientists and doctors should be consulted about these favorable times and conditions for procreation However, so he doesn't want to make a hard and fast rule and realizes that there could be Better scientific evidence about this The best physical conditions for procreation he claims are neither athletic ones nor those incapable of labor but rather a moderate condition Which is quote capable of all the actions of a free man unquote He recommends diet and exercise for women which he thinks can have important effects on the child Quote for the offspring derive their natures from their mothers as plants do from the earth unquote here Recognizing the great importance of women to Reproduction and in producing the final forms of the citizens Regulation of abortion and exposure of children He says depends on issues about birth defects population and customary laws He's clear that abortion in at least some cases is justified But he indicates that there remain open questions Of interestingly as he puts it a scientific nature Quote when couples have children in excess let abortion be procured Before sense and life have begun What may or may not be lawfully done in these cases depends on the question of life and sensation unquote that is depends on an investigation Into the nature of life and the sensitive faculty, which is a matter of biology and psychology Aristotle thinks that the upper limit of the age of procreation should be around the prime for intelligence Which he reckons at about 50 years of age And he also thinks that adultery should be strictly prohibited Adulters who are caught should suffer a very bad punishment and be considered married Finally the education of young children is discussed in chapter 17 He discusses the nurture of infants from birth for example to what extent they should be habituated to endure cold Before age five Aristotle thinks no demand should be made for labor or study Lest their growth be impeded Proper at this age is amusement But the amusement should not be vulgar or as he says tiring or effeminate The kinds of stories they're exposed to should be restricted To what will best prepare them for the business of later life and the occupations that they will be Pursuing at the same time Their exposure to slaves should be kept at an absolute minimum Children's speech should be carefully regulated Quote indeed there is nothing which the legislator should be more careful to drive away than indecency of speech For the light utterance of shameful words leads soon to shameful actions end of quote Specifically, he thinks there should be age restrictions on pictures or speeches representing unseemly actions Youth should not even be exposed to comedy at all until they're of a sufficient age to resist the evil influences of comedic representations Also, he thinks that the young are relatively more susceptible to influences, especially bad influences And he develops a theory of age categories divided Approximately by sevens zero to seven seven to fourteen and fourteen to twenty one Most of the comments in these last couple of chapters have focused on the nurture and education of the first age group And it's up to book eight to discuss education from seven onwards So to give an overall summary of book seven very long and complex book on the perfect state Aristotle's account of the perfect state presupposes that the end of the state is to produce Living well and happiness for anyone anyone at all he says who acts in the best way It will be possible even for those who do not choose to participate in politics to live well But politics is primarily concerned with those who do Take part in politics and thus In ruling and being ruled In this all who are capable of acting in the best way can be happy This excludes however the entire productive or working class who don't have sufficient peace and leisure Or wealth to become educated And to inculcate moral and intellectual virtues in which living well consists Now there are various material prerequisites of the perfect state Population and territory of a certain limited size That makes knowing the character of all the other citizens and deliberating and judging together with impossible it must have Either a completely self-sufficient economy or markets and naval power That are sufficient to enable generosity To be exercised by the relatively well-off citizens But at the same time afford only limited consumption and luxury Finally, it must consist of a certain character of people who are both intelligent and spirited Or courageous and thus essentially be led by certain Greeks who avoid the stupidity of europeans And the supposed slavishness of asians The perfect state will include two basic classes Citizens who are also warriors and later become judges and counselors and ultimately the priests And the non-citizens who produce the things necessary for the citizens to live well Farmers and husbandmen Craftsmen manual laborers and so on Some of the land in both the city and country will be public and some will be private So as to provide the common The citizens with common meals out of the public wheel and public purse The planning and architecture will be focused on the health and security of the city Taking special precaution to avoid air and water pollution Religious buildings will be located at the highest points in the city Beneath which will be a so-called free market where citizens can interact uninterrupted by Any business or politics beneath this will be the offices for the government and the traders market Where exchange of goods and money is allowed to take place The harbor and naval facilities will be removed a convenient distance from all the civic buildings The final end of this state is to produce living well by producing virtuous citizens That requires a comprehensive educational system Which begins taking their health and welfare into account even before their birth In terms of the age at which they're reproduced by their parents So the ages of marriage and procreation are prescribed And abortion is regulated by the state according to scientific and medical science The early rearing and education of children begins with isolating them from slaves Work and study and controlling what kinds of stories and music they're exposed to and culture These topics having been discussed Aristotle is ready to move on to discuss the education of older children in book eight. Thank you