For Aristotle, humanity’s telos (natural end) is happiness (or eudemonia). Originally, anthropology is a theological discipline first systematized by Judaism and Christianity, but the basic ideas of philosophical anthropology are also seen in commentaries by Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Plotinus.

Philosophical anthropology is the philosophical study of the nature of humans and what it means to be human. Just prior to his famous statement that humans are political animals, Aristotle states “ We see that every city is some sort of community, and that every community is constituted for the sake of some good, since everyone does everything for the sake of what seems good.” In order to understand Aristotle it is necessary to understand his philosophical anthropology.

Instead, it signifies that man is a social animal who naturally desires community, to be in association with others, and that this desire to be in community and association with others constitutes some level of the good life and brings about happiness. Unlike today, Aristotle’s statement is not meant to signify that humans should be “politically active,” i.e.

Aristotle famously said in Politics that “ man is a political animal.” What did he mean by that? Why is it important? Aristotle’s political philosophy is dependent upon his understanding of human anthropology and ontology, as well as teleology.

Politics according to aristotle