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Nomos: is an expression from ancient Greek for customs and conventions, as well as for laws not adopted by a general assembly. See also natural justice, law.
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Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments.

 
Author Concept Summary/Quotes Sources

Aristotle on Nomos - Dictionary of Arguments

Gadamer I 435
Nomos/Convention/Aristotle/Gadamer: The agreement on the linguistic use of sounds and signs is only one expression of that fundamental agreement on what is considered good and right. Cf. >Language and Thought/Aristotle
.
Now, it is true that the Greeks liked to understand what is considered good and right, that is, what they called the nomoi, as the statute and achievement of divine men.
Gadamer I 436
But for Aristotle this origin of the Nomos also characterizes more its validity than its actual creation. This is not to say that Aristotle no longer recognizes the religious tradition, but rather that this, like any question of origin, is for him a way to recognize being and being valid. The agreement of which Aristotle speaks with regard to language thus characterizes the mode of being of language and says nothing about its origin.
Concepts/Aristotle: This can also be proved by the memory of the epagoge analysis,(1) where Aristotle (...) had left open in the most ingenious way how general concepts are actually formed. We can now see that he is thus taking into account the fact that the natural formation of concepts in language has always been in progress. >Concepts/Aristotle.


1. An. Post. B 19.
- - -
Gaus I 313
Nomos/Aristotle/Keyt/Miller: Aristotle's analysis of nature leads to a complex treatment of the antithesis between physis and nomos.
Nomos: Nomos (law) is 'a kind of order' in that it organizes human conduct through its commands
and prohibitions (Pol. V 11.4.1326a29—30). The legal is a product of human reason (legislative
science) and is thus opposed to the 'natural' in the sense of what has a natural efficient cause (see EN V .7.1134b18-1135a4). But Aristotle implies that law can (and should) be 'natural' in the sense of having a natural final cause, that is, of promoting natural human ends (see Pol. I.2.1253a29-39). It is only in the Rhetoric that Aristotle explicitly discusses natural law (I.10.1368b7-9, 13.1373b2-18,
and 15.1375a25-b26). How this discussion relates to his discussion of natural justice in the Ethics and Politics is unclear, and this has generated controversy over whether Aristotle is 'the father of natural law' (for the controversy see: Shellens, 1959(1); Miller, 1991(2); Burns, 1998(3)). >Coercion/Aristotle; cf. >Persuasion/Aristotle, >Nature/Aristotle, >Natural laws/Aristotle, >Natural laws.

Pol: Aristotle Politics
EN: Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics


1. Shellens, M. Salomon (1959) 'Aristotle on natural law'. Natural Law Forum, 4: 72-100.
2. Miller, Fred D. (1991) 'Aristotle on natural law and justice'. In David Keyt and Fred D. Miller, eds,
A Companion to Aristotle's Politics. Oxford: Blackwell.
3. Burns, Tony (1998) 'Aristotle and natural law'. History of Political Thought, 19: 142-66.

Keyt, David and Miller, Fred D. jr. 2004. „Ancient Greek Political Thought“. In: Gaus, Gerald F. & Kukathas, Chandran 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications

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Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments
The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition.

Gadamer I
Hans-Georg Gadamer
Wahrheit und Methode. Grundzüge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik 7. durchgesehene Auflage Tübingen 1960/2010

Gadamer II
H. G. Gadamer
The Relevance of the Beautiful, London 1986
German Edition:
Die Aktualität des Schönen: Kunst als Spiel, Symbol und Fest Stuttgart 1977

Gaus I
Gerald F. Gaus
Chandran Kukathas
Handbook of Political Theory London 2004


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