--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Aristotle argued that slaves have a…" description: "\"“Aristotle argued that slaves have a ‘slavish nature’ whereas free people have a ‘free nature’. Their status in society is merely a reflection of their..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/yuval-noah-harari-100_aristotle_aristotle-argued-that-slaves-have-a-slav_531852.jpg" --- # Aristotle argued that slaves have a ‘slavish nature’… ![“Aristotle argued that slaves have a ‘slavish nature’ whereas free people have a ‘free nature’. Their status in society is merely a reflection of their innate nature.” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/yuval-noah-harari-100_aristotle_aristotle-argued-that-slaves-have-a-slav_531852.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/yuval-noah-harari-100_aristotle_aristotle-argued-that-slaves-have-a-slav_531852.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/yuval-noah-harari-100_aristotle_aristotle-argued-that-slaves-have-a-slav_531852.jpg) > ““Aristotle argued that slaves have a ‘slavish nature’ whereas free people have a ‘free nature’. Their status in society is merely a reflection of their innate nature.”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aristotle claimed social roles stem from inherent traits, suggesting hierarchy reflects natural differences rather than social constructs. **In simple terms:** Social roles are seen as natural, not just cultural. Key Takeaway Question the basis of social hierarchies. Themes philosophy politics human nature Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - policy making - activism - personal reflection Key Concepts essentialism social stratification Questions to Reflect On - How do we distinguish innate traits from societal influence? - Can we reshape social roles regardless of perceived nature? A Different Perspective Such essentialist views can ignore structural inequality and change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Free people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-people/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) ## Related quotes > [“A slave was the property of his or her master as were all the women in his family, and it was argued that both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/a-slave-was-the-property-of-his-or-her-master-as-were-all-the-women/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [“Contrary to Aristotle, there is no known biological difference between slaves and free people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/contrary-to-aristotle-there-is-no-known-biological-difference-between/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“We’re not descendants of slaves. We’re descendants of free people who were enslaved.' Francia Márquez Mina, Afro-Colombian Vice President of Colombia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francia-m-rquez-mina/we-re-not-descendants-of-slaves-we-re-descendants-of-free-people-who/) Francia Márquez Mina > [“switched to slaves. From the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, about 10 million African slaves were imported to America. About 70 per cent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/switched-to-slaves-from-the-sixteenth-to-the-nineteenth-centuries/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. 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Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-b-crawford/) > [“We are what we repeatedly do. —Aristotle”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-navarro/we-are-what-we-repeatedly-do-aristotle/) [Joe Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-navarro/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. { His teacher was the legendary philosopher Aristotle }”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-am-indebted-to-my-father-for-living-but-to-my-teacher-for-living/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [The ancient Greek philosophers were all natural-born dialecticians and Aristotle, the most encyclopaedic intellect among them, had even already analysed the most essential forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/the-ancient-greek-philosophers-were-all-natural-born-dialecticians/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [“This is what Aristotle meant when he said that the object of science is the necessary and the universal; man and not this man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/this-is-what-aristotle-meant-when-he-said-that-the-object-of-science/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/aristotle-maintained-that-women-have-fewer-teeth-than-men-although-he/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. He is an unimaginative thinker, but his results demand our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/this-is-galileo-said-aristotle-he-advocates-understanding-the-world/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. 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Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The ancient Greek philosophers were all natural-born dialecticians and Aristotle, the most encyclopaedic intellect among them, had even already analysed the most essential forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/the-ancient-greek-philosophers-were-all-natural-born-dialecticians/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. { His teacher was the legendary philosopher Aristotle }”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-am-indebted-to-my-father-for-living-but-to-my-teacher-for-living/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We are what we repeatedly do. —Aristotle”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-navarro/we-are-what-we-repeatedly-do-aristotle/) [Joe Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-navarro/) > [“When the point of education becomes the production of credentials rather than the cultivation of knowledge, it forfeits the motive recognized by Aristotle: "All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-b-crawford/when-the-point-of-education-becomes-the-production-of-credentials/) [Matthew B. Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-b-crawford/) > [The intimate and the infinite are tangled together in this incandescent book, lit by Aristotle’s bright spark of a daughter. Lucid even in nightmare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-endicott/the-intimate-and-the-infinite-are-tangled-together-in-this/) [Marina Endicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-endicott/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. 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