Book 5 / Chapter 11
Paragraph 1 - Justice and Self-Harm: The State's Perspective
Explanation - Part By Part
"Whether a man can treat himself unjustly or not, is evident from what has been said. For (a) one class of just acts are those acts in accordance with any virtue which are prescribed by the law; e.g. the law does not expressly permit suicide, and what it does not expressly permit it forbids."
Aristotle is addressing the question of whether a person can act unjustly toward themselves. His argument begins by pointing out that "just acts" are behaviors aligned with moral virtues and guided by the framework of law. As an example, he notes that the law does not explicitly permit suicide, and in cases where something is not explicitly allowed by law, it is treated as prohibited. This forms the foundation of his reasoning that actions like suicide are unjust, not necessarily because they harm the individual, but because they violate the broader moral and legal codes established for society.
"Again, when a man in violation of the law harms another (otherwise than in retaliation) voluntarily, he acts unjustly, and a voluntary agent is one who knows both the person he is affecting by his action and the instrument he is using; and he who through anger voluntarily stabs himself does this contrary to the right rule of life, and this the law does not allow; therefore he is acting unjustly."
In this part, Aristotle is explaining what it means to act unjustly, particularly in a voluntary way. He highlights that an unjust act involves deliberately harming another person without justification (such as self-defense or retaliation). For it to be considered voluntary, the person committing the act must fully understand what they are doing—who they are harming and the tool or method they are using to carry out the harm.
He then applies this logic to someone who harms themselves in anger, such as stabbing themselves. By doing so, the person is acting against the "right rule of life," or a proper, virtuous way of living. Aristotle sees this as an unjust act—not because the individual harms themselves but because their actions go against what is morally or legally appropriate. Even though the harm is self-inflicted, this behavior is treated as unjust according to the standards of the law and ethics.
"But towards whom? Surely towards the state, not towards himself. For he suffers voluntarily, but no one is voluntarily treated unjustly."
Aristotle is arguing here that an individual cannot commit an injustice toward themselves because injustice, by its nature, involves someone being wronged against their will. If a person voluntarily does something harmful to themselves—like in the example of suicide—this harm cannot be considered an act of injustice directed at themselves, since they willingly chose the act. Instead, Aristotle suggests that the injustice is directed at others, particularly the larger community or the state, because the individual’s actions undermine their responsibilities or obligations to society.
"This is also the reason why the state punishes; a certain loss of civil rights attaches to the man who destroys himself, on the ground that he is treating the state unjustly."
In this part, Aristotle is explaining why the state imposes consequences, even after someone's death, for acts like suicide. He argues that when a person takes their own life, they are not only harming themselves but also committing an injustice against the state. The reasoning is rooted in the idea that individuals are part of a collective community, and their lives are not exclusively their own—they are connected to the well-being and functioning of the state as a whole. By ending their own life, a person is seen as failing in their duty to the state, depriving it of a contributing member, and thus an act of injustice is committed against the larger society. This is why the state may impose symbolic punishments, like a "loss of civil rights," even posthumously, to acknowledge this harm done to the community.