Teleology, perfectionism, and communitarianism in Aristotle's political naturalism

Aristotle's political naturalism is represented in his primary discussion of Politics I.2, where he advances three striking claims. The claims are: (1) The polis, or city-state, exists by nature ( Pol. 1252b29). (2) A human is by nature a political animal ( Pol. 1253a3). (3) The polis is by nature prior to the individual (Pol. 1253a25). These claims are difficult to interpret because they appear to contradict assertions Aristotle makes in other areas of his philosophy. The arguments for these claims are also difficult to interpret, and the efficacy of the arguments in defending the claims is in question. Furthermore, later political philosophers have rejected the concept of political naturalism (the idea that the state is in some way a natural entity).; I argue that the first claim is only apparently contradictory because the polis is sui generis. The polis does not belong in any of Aristotle's categories. I also argue that its correct interpretation derives from Aristotle's natural teleology.; I argue that Aristotle's second claim is tightly connected to his views in the Nicomachean Ethics on human nature. To that end, I defend an interpretation of the second claim in light of Aristotle's perfectionism. Aristotle's version of perfectionism is that a 'good' human attains a measure of excellence in terms of virtues unique to human life. Thus I argue that according to Aristotle, the best way for a human to become virtuous is to live within the polis.; The correct interpretation of the third claim draws on Aristotle's concepts of priority, homonymy, and function. Aristotle uses the word 'prior' in this claim to indicate that the polis can exist without any particular individual, but that the individual cannot exist without the polis. However, Aristotle does not believe that a person will literally die outside the polis. He thinks that a person will not live well and will not fulfill her function as a human being outside the polis. Because of the third claim, scholars have accused Aristotle of totalitarianism. I argue that this accusation stems from a misinterpretation of the claim. The correct interpretation is that Aristotle was communitarian.