The Good Life and the Good State

A Neo-Aristotelian Theory of Government

Katharina Nieswandt

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English

Anthem Press
14 January 2025

Ethics & moral philosophy; Social & political philosophy; Political science & theory

Draws inspiration from Aristotle's philosophy and argues that the good life is only achievable within a state, updating the ancient concept of a common good for contemporary, pluralistic societies.

There is no good human life outside of a state, and the good state enables us to live well together

so says Constitutivism, the theory developed in this book. Reinvigorating Aristotelian ideas, the author asks in what sense citizens of modern, populous and pluralistic societies share a common good. While we can easily find examples of cooperation that benefit each member, such as insurances, the idea that persons could share a common good became puzzling with modernity

a puzzlement epitomised in Margret Thatcher's 'What is society? There is no such thing!' This puzzlement, the author argues, results from our profoundly modern understanding of rational actions, which we see as means toward outcomes. If we allow that not only outcomes but also histories and identities can be good reasons for actions, then it makes sense to see a person's good and the common good of their political community as constitutive of one another, as Aristotle thought. Building on this idea, the author argues that in designing our institutions, we also give ourselves an identity

in other words, we constitute ourselves as persons.

By: Katharina Nieswandt
Imprint: Anthem Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781839992834
ISBN 10: 1839992832
Pages: 150
Publication Date: 14 January 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Katharina Nieswandt is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Concordia University in Montreal. She specialises in metaethics and political theory.