"L’amicizia civica in Aristotele"

Abstract: Although the Aristotelian idea of the polis is limited by some features of its historical context (slavery, men-women relationships), it can still be very relevant and productive, as seen by the way it was revived in the work of Christian thinker Jacques Maritain. Based on the relational nature of human persons, it emphasises the polis as a special kind of community. While in the modern age this has often been erroneously confused with the State, it coincides in fact with civil or political society, in other words that society with a primarily spiritual nature and purpose, which Aristotle understood as an asso- ciation of free and equal persons. Committed through mutual service to the establishment of conditions that guarantee basic human needs to those who are governed, this allows everyone to grow in human- ity, ful lling their own nature or telos. In other words, they can ful l their potential as rational and relational human beings.