The Aristotelian Theory of Security

The significant contribution of historical and experimental endeavors to the development of security studies, coupled with the overlooked concept of security in renowned philosophers’ thoughts, has resulted in a limited connection between contemporary security studies and these philosophers’ views. Even though they had not directly addressed the issue of security, their exploration of topics like revolutions, social conflicts, succession wars, and racial conflicts indirectly encompassed this concept. Thus, the lack of a distinct concept of security in these thinkers’ ideas doesn’t imply that they disregarded or undervalued this concept.Viewed from this standpoint, the confinement of contemporary security studies to the recent decades, and the insufficient consideration given to the insights of philosophers from earlier times, can be seen as a significant deficiency in these studies. To rectify this, it becomes imperative to revisit the philosophies of these thinkers, scrutinizing them with a fresh perspective and an understanding shaped by today’s concept of security.Hence, reevaluating the political doctrines of eminent philosophers, through the prism of both traditional and modern security notions, is not merely crucial but also beneficial. Apart from addressing the deficiencies of contemporary security studies, this sets up specific criteria for assessing both current security perspectives and everyday security strategies, theoretically and practically.

Aristotle, despite the historical nature of his work, is a highly distinguished philosopher whose ideas merit analysis through this approach. This paper aims to extract themes related to contemporary security concepts from Aristotle’s teachings. It poses a fundamental question: What are the features of a security theory grounded in Aristotle’s teachings and political thought? To answer this, the hermeneutic method is employed to idntify key security points and themes related to the concept of security from his political thought. These are then analyzed in accordance with modern security perspectives across military, political, social, and economic dimensions.

Through this process, the principles of a security theory - namely, the security referent object, security issue, and security measures - are discerned. Consequently, the research hypothesis is formulated as follows: A security theory rooted in Aristotle’s teachings and political thought aligns with the philosophy of emancipation. In this theory, the polis or state (political society) serves as the security referent object, harmonizing with the military, political, social, and economic dimensions of security. Concurrently, this theory’s foundations are built on military strength to counter external threats, political stability, societal peace, and just distribution to fulfill economic needs.This paper shows that while Aristotle may not have explicitly established a security theory, his ideas align with the security perspectives of contemporary theorists across military, political, social, and economic domains. Accordingly, we can identify security elements within his political thought and study the security referent object, security issue, and security measures from an Aristotelian perspective, albeit not within a framework directly formulated by Aristotle himself.The paper also emphasizes that the “good life” is at the heart of Aristotelian philosophy. Since this goal is best achieved within the polis (political society), in a security framework grounded in Aristotelian thought, the polis or state becomes the referent object of security. Key elements of safeguarding the security of the polis in this view include defending the polis against external threats, ensuring its stability and peace through appropriate institutional structures, and nurturing virtuous citizens who enjoy a degree of economic prosperity due to just asset distribution.The paper’s findings also suggest that Aristotle’s security philosophy is fundamentally rooted in the concept of emancipation. This is because, in his view, security stems from factors such as upholding virtue, fostering virtuous and just citizens, just distribution, enforcing justice among equals, adherence to the law, education aligned with the nation’s constitution, and citizens’ rights to participate in governance and receive respect. The ultimate aim of security is the “good life”, and the use of military power serves this purpose rather than being a means for domination. These emancipation-based elements form the bedrock of societal security in an Aristotelian security theory.