Abstract

The article examines the concept of the political nature of man that can
easily be traced back to the famous passage by Aristotle at the beginning
of his Politics. The classical science on politics, as mostly derived
from Aristotle’s book and distinguished from the modern political science,
is based, indeed, upon that claim on human nature which must
be perceived in light of a broader vision of cosmos. There is also a vital
tension between the contemplative way of life and politics or practice
certainly worth being taken into consideration when asking about the
foundation of the claim above. In order to grasp this tension, the reader
should turn to another well-known piece from Aristotle, namely a fragment
of his Nicomachean Ethics. After the concise examination of the
classic’s oeuvre, the author of the article shows in a brief manner some
intellectual reasons that stand behind an actual contemporary oblivion
of the classical science of politics and form the background, instead, of
the post-modern conception of political commitment or “the political”.