What is the Mean Term of Distributive Justice according to Aristotle? A Solution to the Geometrical Problem Posed in Book V of the Nicomachean Ethics

Abstract

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle poses a geometrical problem to determine the Mean Term of Distributive Justice. To solve it, we must refer to the Aristotelian Theory of the Mean, and then clarify why in the case of Distributive Justice the mean term is not between two extremes as in all the other virtues, but between three. Indeed, Aristotle started from the observation that there were three opposing views on which was the fairest criterion for the distribution of political and economic rights and duties: for the democrats the only just criterion was freedom, for the oligarchs wealth, and for the aristocrats virtue. According to my interpretation, none of the three options is correct, since Aristotle considers that all three criteria should be considered equally. Consequently, the geometrical figure required by Aristotle would be the triangle divided into Extreme and Mean Ratio, which indicates that the fairest criterion of distribution is the Golden Ratio between the three opposing distributive criteria. In fact, by applying the solution of the problem to different forms of government, we discover which government is perfectly just according to Aristotle: The Aristocratic Politeia. As we know, the Aristotelian ideal of the Mixed Constitution was popularized by Polybius, who saw in the Roman Republic a manifestation of the Stagirite's theory of justice.