Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
If every tool, when ordered, or even of its own accord, could do the work that befits it... then there would be no need either of apprentices for the master workers or of slaves for the lords.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that if all tools could perform their intended functions autonomously, there would be no need for skilled workers or subservient laborers.
Aristotle's quote reflects on the nature of labor and the division of work in society. It implies that the capability of tools and automation has a direct correlation with the roles and hierarchies that exist among people. Should tools and machines advance to a point where they could accomplish tasks without human intervention, the need for skilled workers and lower classes would diminish, leading to a rethinking of labor, expertise, and social structure.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of automation on jobs, this quote could illustrate the potential consequences of advanced technology on labor.
More from Aristotle
All quotes →Those who cannot bravely face danger are the slaves of their attackers.
For often, when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream.
You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.
But if nothing but soul, or in soul mind, is qualified to count, it is impossible for there to be time unless there is soul, but only that of which time is an attribute, i.e. if change can exist without soul.
The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
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How do most people live without any thought? There are many people in the world,--you must have noticed them in the street,--how do they live? How do they get strength to put on their clothes in the morning?
I want to escape from myself. For when I do start up and stare myself seedily in the face, as happens to be my case at present, my blankness is inconceivable--indescribable--my misery amazing.