The Aristotelian Conceptualization Of Self Sufficiency

Before comparison of different contexts of self-sufficiency, it is necessary to understand how the Aristotelian conceptualization of self-sufficiency merges itself with the political aspect of virtuous life. In the examination of the nature of human beings and of the magnanimous man, self-sufficiency in a fuller sense is revealed to be inherently political. In defining happiness, Aristotle first also clarifies self-sufficiency itself â€Å"not by reference to the â€Å"self† alone. We do not mean a man who lives in isolation, but a man who also lives with†¦ fellow citizens generally† (NE I.7 1097b8-11). This expanded understanding of self-sufficiency, while initially and potentially paradoxical, rather does little more than begin to redefine self-sufficiency as a quality that can be possessed by more than isolated hermits. It is not until the discussion of the ‘high-minded’ man that this expanded self-sufficiency becomes political in nature. The magnan imous man will â€Å"requite good with a greater good†, putting himself in the recipients â€Å"debt† in order to repay disproportionately. Additionally, this high-minded man â€Å"is a person who will rather possess beautiful and profitless objects than objects which are profitable and useful, for they mark him more as self-sufficient† (NE IV.3 1124b11-13; 1125a11-12). Oddly, self-sufficiency is characterized by excess rather than mere contentment. This Aristotelian self-sufficiency is counter-intuitive in two ways. Firstly in that it requires more