The Darwinian Biology of Aristotle's Political Animals

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Abstract
Recently, some political scientists, such as James Q. Wilson and Roger Masters, have argued for a Darwinian social theory that would support a revival of Aristotelian naturalism in the social sciences. As a contribution to this project, I argue that Darwinian biology confirms Aristotle's biological understanding of political animals. Thomas Hobbes's criticisms of Aristotle's position rest on dichotomies-nature versus culture, instinct versus learning, animality versus humanity-that have been refuted by modem biological research. Rejecting these false dichotomies would permit a unification of the social sciences and the natural sciences with Darwinian biology as the crucial link.

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