Historikon einai e synoran: riflessioni sulla funzione della conoscenza storica nel pensiero aristotelico

This article deals with the role of historical knowledge according to Aristotle. In particular, it focuses on the judgment expressed in Aristotle’s Rhetoric (1, 4, 1359b 30-32) on the benefits of the comparative (historical) method for the knowledge and the comprehension of matters that are subject to political deliberations and political choices. Here Aristotle states that a global vision (synoran), an indispensable condition for the knowledge and comprehension of politics, can only be reached through historical research (historikon einai).