The Political Animal: Biology, Ethics and Politics

by Stephen R L Clark, Stephen R.L Clark

Overview

People, as Aristotle said, are political animals. Mainstream political philosophy, however, has largely neglected humankind's animal nature as beings who are naturally equipped, and inclined, to reason and work together, create social bonds and care for their young. Stephen Clark, grounded in biological analysis and traditional ethics, probes into areas ignored in mainstream political theory and argues for the significance of social bonds which bypass or transcend state authority.
Understanding the ties that bind us reveals how enormously capable we are in achieving civil order as a species. Stephen Clark advocates that a properly informed political philosophy must take into account the role of women, children, animals, minorities and the domestic virtues at large. Living and comnducting our political lives like the animals we are is a more congenial prospect than is usually supposed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134658596
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/04/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	474 KB

About the Author

Clark, Stephen R L; Clark, Stephen R.L

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements, Introduction, 1. Aristotle’s woman, 2. Slaves and citizens, 3. Is humanity a natural kind?, 4. Children and the mammalian order, 5. Anarchists against the revolution, 6. Bioregional environmentalism and the humanistic culture, 7. Good and bad ethology and the decent polis, 8. Apes and the idea of kindred, 9. Herds of free bipeds, 10. Enlarging the community, 11. Nations and empires, References, Publications by Stephen R.L. Clark, Index