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Great point, even considering that Einstein seems to be taking Aristotle and ancient Greek dogma totally out of context. Perhaps, as was and is a tradition in a

Great point, even considering that Einstein seems to be taking Aristotle and ancient Greek dogma totally out of context. Perhaps, as was and is a tradition in academic circles, he was advocating that contemporary scientists were in fact better and more enlightened than the Greeks. Or, maybe it was a reaction against Hitler's fascination with the ancient Greeks. Yet, Aristotle did not present a clear belief system on slavery, especially considering that even Socrates dialogue Meno, he makes the case for the equality and infinite capacity of all humankind.

Locke1689 12y ago
Meno was written by Plato.
lotsofmangos 12y ago
Plato wrote Meno and Aristotle presented a very clear belief system on slavery in Book I, Chapters 3 through 7 of The Politics and in Book 7 of the Nicomachean Ethics. "But is there any one thus intended by nature to be a slave, and for whom such a condition is expedient and right, or rather is not all slavery a violation of nature?" "There is no difficulty in answering this question, on grounds both of reason and of fact. For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule." http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.1.one.html http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.1.one.html edit - mind you, he also had a tendency to write stuff like: "If a woman looks at a highly polished mirror during the menstrual period, the surface of the mirror becomes like a blood shot cloud", so it isn't as though the slavery thing is a small unfortunate oversight in some otherwise wise philosophy. If you forget for a minute that you are dealing with Aristotle, he is consistently quite considerably bonkers, and seemingly just winging it through a lot of his writing, though there is plenty of genius in there as well.
- saraid216 12y ago
  It'd be funnier if views like this one weren't well-represented in the modern day: > Such are the power given to women in their families in the hope that they will inform against their husbands, and the license which is allowed to slaves in order that they may betray their masters; for slaves and women do not conspire against tyrants; and they are of course friendly to tyrannies and also to democracies, since under them they have a good time. Book 5.
- wutangson1 12y ago
  Yes, Plato is the author of the Dialogues of Socrates. My bad if my last sentence was written unclearly to seems as if Aristotle was a student of Socrates. Yet, I suggest going back to that same link you posted and read all of Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics where Aristotle defines courage and what is the only real justification for war. After reading Book II, by the time you get to Book VII, you may not think Aristotle believed people deserved to be slaves. Also, if Aristotle is bonkers, I'd be glad to know who you think the real man/woman of science is. And I hope the answer isn't Einstein.
  - lotsofmangos 12y ago
    The real man/woman of science is obviously the hermaphroditic god-head at the center of creation. Any fool knows that.
    - wutangson1 12y ago
      hackneyed
      - lotsofmangos 12y ago
        Well, I don't care if it is the same tired old response that everyone gives. It is always good to spread the word about the godhead and its holy genitalia, which in both quantity and variety are innumerable in even the largest of Cantor's series of infinite sets.
  - fsloth 12y ago
    As an example of Aristotle being quite useless: When I need to figure out mechanics I'd rather use Newton's mechanics than Aristotle's.
    - lotsofmangos 12y ago
      He's quite good for platform games.
anigbrowl 12y ago
Socrates' dialogues were documented/written by Plato, not Aristotle. While there was certainly a conception of universal potential in ancient Greek philosophy, I think there was also the comfortable assumption that enslaved peoples were inferior insofar as they had allowed themselves to be enslaved in the first place. You could draw a parallel with the relatively limited role of women in Greek society. I think it's this sort of confirmation bias Einstein was taking aim at.

Locke1689 12y ago

Meno was written by Plato.

lotsofmangos 12y ago

Plato wrote Meno and Aristotle presented a very clear belief system on slavery in Book I, Chapters 3 through 7 of The Politics and in Book 7 of the Nicomachean Ethics. "But is there any one thus intended by nature to be a slave, and for whom such a condition is expedient and right, or rather is not all slavery a violation of nature?" "There is no difficulty in answering this question, on grounds both of reason and of fact. For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule." http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.1.one.html http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.1.one.html edit - mind you, he also had a tendency to write stuff like: "If a woman looks at a highly polished mirror during the menstrual period, the surface of the mirror becomes like a blood shot cloud", so it isn't as though the slavery thing is a small unfortunate oversight in some otherwise wise philosophy. If you forget for a minute that you are dealing with Aristotle, he is consistently quite considerably bonkers, and seemingly just winging it through a lot of his writing, though there is plenty of genius in there as well.

saraid216 12y ago
It'd be funnier if views like this one weren't well-represented in the modern day: > Such are the power given to women in their families in the hope that they will inform against their husbands, and the license which is allowed to slaves in order that they may betray their masters; for slaves and women do not conspire against tyrants; and they are of course friendly to tyrannies and also to democracies, since under them they have a good time. Book 5.
wutangson1 12y ago
Yes, Plato is the author of the Dialogues of Socrates. My bad if my last sentence was written unclearly to seems as if Aristotle was a student of Socrates. Yet, I suggest going back to that same link you posted and read all of Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics where Aristotle defines courage and what is the only real justification for war. After reading Book II, by the time you get to Book VII, you may not think Aristotle believed people deserved to be slaves. Also, if Aristotle is bonkers, I'd be glad to know who you think the real man/woman of science is. And I hope the answer isn't Einstein.
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  The real man/woman of science is obviously the hermaphroditic god-head at the center of creation. Any fool knows that.
  - wutangson1 12y ago
    hackneyed
    - lotsofmangos 12y ago
      Well, I don't care if it is the same tired old response that everyone gives. It is always good to spread the word about the godhead and its holy genitalia, which in both quantity and variety are innumerable in even the largest of Cantor's series of infinite sets.
- fsloth 12y ago
  As an example of Aristotle being quite useless: When I need to figure out mechanics I'd rather use Newton's mechanics than Aristotle's.
  - lotsofmangos 12y ago
    He's quite good for platform games.

anigbrowl 12y ago

Socrates' dialogues were documented/written by Plato, not Aristotle. While there was certainly a conception of universal potential in ancient Greek philosophy, I think there was also the comfortable assumption that enslaved peoples were inferior insofar as they had allowed themselves to be enslaved in the first place. You could draw a parallel with the relatively limited role of women in Greek society. I think it's this sort of confirmation bias Einstein was taking aim at.