Teleology in Politics 1.8

Abstract:  My point of departure is a passage in Aristotle’s Politics that suggests, if read literally, that he subscribed to a global, or possibly even an anthropocentric, teleology. A common strategy for avoiding a literal reading is to appeal to a distinction between two kinds of ends or purposes. I argue that this strategy is not as successful as has been thought, because the distinction is not the one it is commonly thought to be. My ultimate aim is to make a case for a literal reading of the passage in the Politics.