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Natural Domination: A Reply to Michael Levin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2001

Catherine Wilson
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Abstract

The paper is adressed to Michael Levin's recent Philosophy article ‘Natural Submission, Aristotle on.’ Levin argues that rule by the naturally dominant is for the best and that the naturally submissive ought to accept it as just and even inevitable. I point out some confusions in his attempt to link merit-conferring traits in individuals with social and political dominance and question his conceptions of human welfare, inferiority, and criminality. Certain combinations of competence and forcefulness arise in real-world settings, and they produce a range of outcomes not all of which are either inevitable or desirable.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy , Volume 73 , Issue 4 , October 1998 , pp. 573 - 592
Copyright
© The Royal Institute of Philosophy 1998

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