Natural Slavery

* Aristotle’s conception of the natural slave remains a contentious issue. I challenge two common interpretations that misrepresent his account. The first holds that natural slaves share the same human nature as free men, with their deficiency arising from their actions and habituation. The second sees the natural slave as a subhuman, closer to animals, with an innate and ineliminable rational defect. I reject both views and argue that Aristotle sees the natural slave as a legitimate human being but with a rational deficiency. Furthermore, I contend that this deficiency is more severe than some scholars acknowledge, particularly those who take Aristotle as identifying non-Greeks with natural slaves and assess their cognitive abilities on the basis of the intellectual achievements of non-Greeks. * Tato studie vznikla v rámci projektu GA20-05855S „Scholastická fyzika v éře vědecké revoluce“, reg. č. 20- 05855S podpořeného Grantovou agenturou České re - publiky a řešeného ve Filosofickém ústavu AV ČR, v. v. i., v Praze. Za cenné komentáře vděčím Petrovi Dvořákovi i oběma anonymním recenzentům. 43n e VIm b orç In r etH in KinG n atural s laver Y in a ristotle 32/2024 Aristotle argues that certain peo- ple can be justly enslaved on the basis of their nature, a position he explicit - ly defends in his discussion of natural slavery in Politics I. However, the in - terpretation of the ‘nature’ attributed to the slave is a subject of debate. It is widely believed that Aristotle justifies the exclusion of the natural slave from the political and good life on the basis of their necessary and ineliminable de - fective nature. Among these scholars, some view the slave as a legitimate hu - man being, while others argue that Ar - istotle regards the slave as subhuman, akin to animals. A minority of schol - ars, however, challenge this standard interpretation, claiming that the slave is a legitimate human being with the same natural capacities as free citizens at birth. 1 They argue that what quali - fies a person as a natural slave is not an innate defect, but rather their later ac - tions and habituation. According to this view, the nature of the slave is indeed reversible. I