The Political Animal in Medieval Philosophy: A Philosophical Study of the Commentary Tradition c.1260–c.1410. Juhana Toivanen. Studien und Texte zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters 129. Leiden: Brill, 2021. xiv + 434 pp. €145

• Published in: Renaissance quarterly Vol. 76; no. 1; pp. 321 - 322
• Main Author: Nauta, Lodi
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.04.2023
• Subjects: Animals; Philosophy; Political power; Political systems; Politics; Society; Traditions

In six chapters Toivanen discusses terminological issues; the biological basis of human sociability (where self-preservation and the preservation of the species play a key role); the role of the political community in attaining a happy life in the Aristotelian sense (and whether everybody can attain...