The Interconnection of Ethics and Politics in Philosophy

Plato: highlights the necessary relationship between ethics and politics in his work, The Republic, justifying the ethics of human customs and the justice of social organization. Both ethics and justice depend on the knowledge of good. The existence of good is only possible if reason dominates the human soul and philosophers rule the state. The condition occurs in the context where education seeks the happiness of its citizens through virtue. The state will not be differentiated from the soul, since both aim to realize the idea of goodness and justice. The foundation and the goal of community justice is essential, as no human community can exist without it. Justice is achieved when every individual performs the task that is proper to them. The realization of justice in the individual and the state can only proceed in parallel. Justice is the agreement between the individual and the community. Aristotle: defines the highest good as happiness. The goal of ethics is happiness. There are immediate goods that lead us to it, which can become targets of unethical behavior. Among these goods is the polis (city) and polity (politics). The polis establishes the essence of being human. The author acknowledges in his politics that establishing a political organization is one of the greatest goods, as it allows humans to develop a sense of justice and lead towards perfection. The state oversees each family; it is within the natural order, and each individual is inclined to join. The state precedes the individual. The ultimate objective of politics is the common good and common happiness. The human being is, first and foremost, a political animal. It is more than just a company; one cannot live without being a member of the city, but rather is akin to a beast or a god. Aristotle addresses the problem of moral knowledge and states that the most important aspect to achieve a happy life is politics. He defends that the moral dimension of man is inseparable from its political dimension and that the order of the individual can only be thought of as part of the community. Happiness can be achieved through political means.