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Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy pp 1–6Cite as

Household Management

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Abstract

Household management (oeconomics) is the discipline aimed at the head of the family with the purpose of guiding him in the achievement of justice and “prudence” in the domestic sphere. As a doctrine of the oikos, it concerns the relations between the people living in a house and all the activities necessary to its management, preservation, and growth. It may also comprehend commercial activities, as these are limited and subordinate to the necessities of the house. From Xenophon and Aristotle to early modern literature of res familiares, the essential feature of household management is the capacity of the father to govern the house through the “just” (i.e., “rightful” and/or “most effective”) means. In different historical contexts, however, a number of other issues recurred and were variously discussed: the relation between the oikos and the civitas, the relation between morality and necessity, and the distinction between administration, government, and oeconomics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

    Alessandro Arienzo

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  1. Alessandro Arienzo
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Correspondence to Alessandro Arienzo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Venezia, Italy

    Marco Sgarbi

Section Editor information

  1. Italian Studies, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    David A. Lines Reader

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Arienzo, A. (2018). Household Management. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_609-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_609-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

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