Aristotle's Politics Lesson Plan

Throughout much of Politics, Aristotle evaluates governments on their ability to avoid revolution. How does he define revolution? Why do revolutions happen? Do you agree that revolutions are bad? How so, or how not?

Revolution, for Aristotle, is the sudden replacement of one form of government with another. He dislikes revolutions because they cause upheaval and happens quickly, never in moderation. They happen because of unhappiness with the government on the part of certain groups, usually the very rich or the very poor. When students make their evaluations, they must contend with Aristotle's belief in stable government.

When discussing the problems with revolution,...