HPhil Seminar: April 9, 2026

The HPhil (History of Philosophy) Research Group of the Centre of Philosophy of the University of Lisbon announces the 2025/26 edition of its permanent seminar on the history of philosophy, devoted to the presentation of conferences by renowned specialists while also creating opportunities to emerging scholars, aiming to promote advanced studies in groundbreaking debates and the permanent training of its academic community.

In this session of the seminar, Richard Dougherty (University of Dallas) will present a paper, entitled “Is Aristotle’s City Natural?”. (abstract below)

The session will take place on April 9, 2026 at 5 p.m., in the Room 201.J (Room Mattos Romão, Department of Philosophy). Admission is free.

Streaming available here.

 

Abstract

In Aristotle’s Politics we encounter arguably the classical presentation of the nature and naturalness of the city. The polis, for Aristotle, is the authoritative human association, a natural result of the organization of households into villages and villages into the polis. The polis exists by nature, and it follows from this that man, the inhabitant of the polis, is “by nature a political animal.” Indeed, to be by nature without a polis is to be either worse or better than man. The polis arises out of a type of necessity, for none of its constituent entities (the single man, the household, and the village) can achieve self-sufficiency.

Yet, there are multiple passages even in the opening chapters of the Politics that compel one to further reflection on the claim of the naturalness of the city, including the role of women and slaves within the city and the household. The enduring character of the household, and its relationship to the city, is also, we discover, more complicated than we might have thought at first glance.

This talk aims at arriving at a fuller understanding of Aristotle’s view of the naturalness of the city, in part by comparing and contrasting it with that found in other seminal thinkers, such as Plato, Cicero, and Aquinas. The question of nature in Aristotle’s account seems inherently tied to a particular understanding of justice, an understanding that can be found in different forms in each of these thinkers.

 

This activity is funded by Portuguese national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., within the project UID/00310/2025, Centro de Filosofia da Universidade de Lisboa (https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/00310/2025).