Simpson presents Aristotelian thought
By Jim Demos, contributing writer
Posted on February 26, 2007

According to Peter Simpson, professor of philosophy and classics at the City University of New York, it is possible to have a government that provides a civil order where citizens can live freely, while being Aristotelian and active in the moral development of its people.      

This assertion was the ultimate lesson of Simpson’s lecture “Aristotle’s City and Its Contemporary Relevance,” delivered Thursday night in the Festival Conference and Student Center. The talk was the first of a semester-long series on Western philosophy sponsored by Phi Sigma Tau, JMU’s philosophy honor society.

For Simpson, understanding how these different political theories can work together requires an understanding of Aristotle’s philosophy of human purpose and development.

“For Aristotle, the goal or perfection of human life is the life of virtue,” Simpson said.  “And the point of the political community is also to make people virtuous.”

Simpson described Aristotle’s notion of virtue as the qualities of character that enable us to lead rational lives. This rationality is what separates humans from other animals and it goes beyond expressing just pleasure or pain.

Rationality enables us “to discern and express justice, the good, the bad, the just and the unjust,” Simpson said. “[It] is more than simply the pleasant; it is also the appropriate and the fitting.”

According to Simpson, when rationality gains control over desire, the virtuous life begins.  Since this is not possible for children, it is the job of the parents to impose rationality on them. 

“But parents are not enough,” Simpson said. “At some point you go into school, at some point you consort with friends at school, at some point you become aware of and take part in the larger society around you. And if the larger society around you is undermining parental education, then parental education is destroyed.”

To combat this, Simpson said, the support of society is needed to reinforce the parental lessons of living rationally.

“We have a political theory that’s pretty dominant throughout the world nowadays that the job of the state is not to make people virtuous, is not to teach morality, but to provide the conditions such as material welfare and peace so that we can all do our own thing,” Simpson said.

The solution to combining these seemingly opposing views in today’s world is achieved by realizing that the conflict is merely a result of confusion about the delegation of duties, Simpson said. The federal government should be a “night watchman,” ensuring the conditions for people to live freely, while the job of helping citizens live a good life should fall on the local community.

By separating the duties of the federal government and the local community, the modern and ancient views won’t conflict.

“We can make them friends,” Simpson said.

Phi Sigma Tau member Tyler Burton enjoyed the lecture and was impressed with its accessibility to a broad audience.

“It wasn’t extremely scholarly,” Burton said. “I thought he presented it in a really down-to-earth, general way.”

Jude Dougherty, dean emeritus of the school of philosophy at The Catholic University of America attended the lecture and said he shares interest in classical philosophy. 

“It puts you in touch with an intellectual life,” Dougherty said. 

After the lecture, Simpson was asked if there was one thing that people who see no importance in philosophy should keep in mind.

“You’ll die someday,” he said.