In a bookshelf-lined room of Tribble Hall, Mariska Leunissen from UNC-Chapel Hill began her discussion on the relationship between Aristotles ethics and biology,in front of an audience of students and faculty alike.

Oliver Beck/Old Gold & Black

She began by warning the audience about what was to come in her lecture: foul, racist language and an unexpectedly long hand out. Leunissen then launched into the meat of the lecture. She talked about Aristotles observations on biology, such as his theory of the four humors of the human blood and the idea that humans are a special kind of animal.

Next on the agenda? Aristotles ideal city. Aristotle believed that it was a lawgivers job to help and manipulate nature and create an ideal city. The first step to achieve this ideal city was to select the natural ingredients, i.e. the perfect men who will inhabit the city. Here is where the talk of biology returned: Aristotle believed northern men had blood that made them too spirited and southern men had blood that made them too lazy. Men from Greece however, had the perfect blood balance and were therefore the perfect men to begin the ideal city. However, they wouldnt live forever, so their offspring also had to be perfect.

Aristotle enacted countless rules in his eugenic theory as far as how to produce the perfect offspring. Marriages must be regulated to create perfect pairs, parents had to be at the ideal age when creating children, woman at 18 and men at 37. Whats more, the timing of childbirth had to be at the ideal hour and season, newborns diet and body had to be tweaked carefully and finally, men and women had to stop procreating once the got past their prime age. He also set up many ramifications considering the parental body type that would produce the ideal child. Once the ideal child is produced, they can be the second generation for the continuation of the ideal city.

Aristotles views on biology directly correlate with what he says about politics. He says that nature should not be left up to chance; lawgivers need to step in and make sure things go the way they should. Aristotles theory of reproduction provides facts that the lawgiver can turn into norms for how child-production should be arranged in the ideal city.

Students enjoyed the presentation.Im a more science-y person, I might major in it, so it was interesting seeing the philosophical side of it and how traits are integrated, freshman Tanner Debellis said. It provided more insight into things Im studying even though they might not be the correct way. It was interesting to see things from this point of view.

Freshman Layne Raborn agreed.It was science through reason instead of science through experience, Raborn said. Leunissen was very funny in some parts and presented her topic very well.

Original post:
Biology and philosophy combine to form an ideal city