Eleuthería en Aristóteles
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2018-03-23
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Universidad EAFIT
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La eleuthería tiene una connotación política y cultural para los antiguos griegos. Refiere la condición libre de los ciudadanos griegos frente a los pueblos bárbaros que prefieren el gobierno tiránico. Platón y Aristóteles, además, hablan de la eleuthería en un sentido moral; esto es, como la condición libre del hombre virtuoso. Pero Aristóteles se refiere a una virtud en concreto: la liberalidad. La liberalidad supone el uso prudente de las riquezas, es decir, el justo medio entre la avaricia y la prodigalidad. Pero el ejercicio de esta virtud repercute en el ámbito político. Primero, porque la ciudadanía presupone en sí misma la virtud moral. Segundo, porque en el núcleo de la liberalidad radica la estabilidad de la pólis; la avaricia o la ambición desmedidas son las que ponen en peligro la estabilidad de la pólis. Por lo tanto, eleuthería tiene un sentido unitario, que va del ámbito privado al político.
The concept of eleutheria has both political and cultural connotations for the ancient Greeks. It refers to the free condition of Greek citizens as opposed to the barbarian peoples who prefer tyrannical government. Plato and Aristotle also refer to eleutheria in a moral sense, that is, as the free condition of the virtuous man. But Aristotle refers to a virtue in particular: liberality. Liberality implies the prudent use of wealth, that is, the right mean between avarice and prodigality. The exercise of this virtue has repercussions in the political sphere. Firstly, because citizenship presupposes moral virtue in itself. Secondly, because the stability of the polis lies in the core of liberality: unbridled avarice or ambition put the stability of the polis at risk. Consequently, eleutheria has a unitary sense, which goes from the private to the political sphere.
The concept of eleutheria has both political and cultural connotations for the ancient Greeks. It refers to the free condition of Greek citizens as opposed to the barbarian peoples who prefer tyrannical government. Plato and Aristotle also refer to eleutheria in a moral sense, that is, as the free condition of the virtuous man. But Aristotle refers to a virtue in particular: liberality. Liberality implies the prudent use of wealth, that is, the right mean between avarice and prodigality. The exercise of this virtue has repercussions in the political sphere. Firstly, because citizenship presupposes moral virtue in itself. Secondly, because the stability of the polis lies in the core of liberality: unbridled avarice or ambition put the stability of the polis at risk. Consequently, eleutheria has a unitary sense, which goes from the private to the political sphere.