Plato, Aristotle, and Me
Renae Hartman
Andrews University
Plato and Aristotle are two of the most well known philosophers of all time. They had many drastic ideas for their time and many of their ideas have even shaped our world today. Their ideas about government, happiness, education, knowledge, law, women, slaves, virtue, and contextualism give insight into the foundational beliefs and understandings that shaped their worldview and subsequently Western society today. Since Aristotle studied under Plato many of their main beliefs are quite similar. Plato had many ideas about almost all aspects of life. One of his most foundational ideas though was about virtue, knowledge, and happiness. He believed that people were all naturally
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Mixed government was based on the idea that “Our object in the construction of the State is the greatest happiness of the whole, and not that of any one class” (Boeree, 2009). Thus, all classes of people should be happy and not only the upper class. By using mixed government Plato thought to equalize power between the one, the few, and the many. This ideas about government has greatly impacted the way Western society thinks about and runs their government. The president, Senate, House and the way that they are organized around the Bill of Rights and the Constitution are all essentially based on Plato’s ideas and then later expanded by Aristotle’s philosophies (Richard, …show more content…
In regards to virtue, he had a theory quite different from that of Plato, although he also believed in the four virtues, he believed in what he called the Golden Mean or the ultimate balance. Instead of continuing Plato’s idea that virtue can be discovered by intuition, he insisted that all knowledge must be learned including the knowledge of right and wrong (Kenny, 2014). He also thought that not all actions are either wrong or right under all circumstances but that the circumstances help to determine whether the action is right or wrong. Thus, Aristotle did not completely agree with everything Plato said but expanded and modified Plato’s theories (Richard,
Aristotle believes that society should achieve eternal happiness and just acts. Plato was also an influential philosopher due to his study of the nature of truths and virtues. Thomas Aquinas believed in moral and virtuous acts from a Spiritual perspective. Knowledge and the governance of the law relies on the contribution of several different effective
Plato is recognized as one of the greatest philosophers of ancient Greece. He is known as a profound thinker who came from an aristocratic family. Plato was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle. Plato’s writing questioned justice, equality, and philosophy. Plato founded the Academy in Athens. This was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world. Two significant events played a major role in Plato’s life. The first event was meeting the Greek philosopher Socrates who later became his teacher. Socrates 's methods of dialogue and debate fascinated Plato. The second significant event was the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, in which Plato was a part of for a short period of time. Plato
He stated, “So virtue is a provisional disposition… virtue is a mean; but in respect of what is right and what is right and best, it is an extreme (Aristotle, 42).” Here Aristotle explains that moral virtue is determined by reason and that it avoids the states of too much, excess, or too little, deficiency. He believes that our soul is the principle of living because it is inside of us. Therefore, for Aristotle the soul was morally which is where we are given the right reason. He believes that, “there are two parts of the soul, one rational and one irrational (Aristotle, 145).” The rational part, which is how he believe we should do our actions upon, consists of possessing reason, part that can think and command, and intellectual virtues, which are virtues that come from time and experience. Courage is a moral virtue. When having courage, you either have too much fear, which makes you a coward, or you have too little fear, where you’d be considered rash or fool hardy. Generosity is also a moral virtue. When you are generous, you are either giving too much, which makes you profligate, or you are giving too little which would consider you as a stingy person. Moral virtues lead you to happiness because of their intermediate state that is by
One of the versions of governing is an oligarchy, a small group of people in control of a country. In book eight of the republic Plato explains the meaning of an oligarchy and when it is very unsuccessful. It doesn't work because whoever has the most wealth can take part in ruling over the city. Plato even explains "when virtue and riches are placed together in the scales of the balance, the one always rises as the other falls...
Aristotle, a student of Plato, is known for his contributions in many fields of philosophy, ethics being one of the most prominent. He produced the first methodical and collected ethical system to be produced by an ancient Greek philosopher, found in his book the Nicomachean Ethics. This, along with the less-read Eudemian Ethics, are his ethical accounts that we have today.
A democracy in Plato’s Republic is viewed as one of the lowest types of regimes a city could have because it can be the one that fails the easiest. There are five total regimes that Plato ranks having to do with how successful they can be. The best being a Aristocracy, then Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy and the worst being Tyranny. Each type of regime that fails degenerates into a worse regime. For example, if a Democracy fails then it later becomes a Tyranny.
Plato, like Pythagoras, believes that knowledge of pure Forms and of “Being” is the direct path to someone living a life of salvation and of the highest quality. Plato, like Pythagoras, also believed that all of the forms are geometric figures and mathematical in nature. Also, Plato, like Heraclitus, believed that our world is constantly changing, or in a constant flux. Plato, also agreed with Parmenides, who believed that the real world is not the same as the world of our experience.
Plato vs. Aristotle How do we explain the world around us? How can we get to the truth? Plato and Aristotle began the quest to find the answers thousands of years ago. Amazingly, all of philosophy since that time can be described as only a rehashing of the original argument between Plato and Aristotle. Plato and Aristotle's doctrines contrast in the concepts of reality, knowledge at birth, and the mechanism to find the truth.
We have two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. These are great men, whose ideas have not been forgotten over years. Although their thoughts of politics were similar, we find some discrepancies in their teachings. The ideas stem from Socrates to Plato to Aristotle. Plato based moral knowledge on abstract reason, while Aristotle grounded it on experience and tried to apply it more to concrete living. Both ways of life are well respected by many people today.
Plato supposed that people exhibit the same features, and perform the same functions that city-states do. Applying the analogy in this way presumes that each of us, like the state, is a complex whole made up of several distinct parts, each of which has its own proper role. But Plato argued that there is evidence of this in our everyday experience. When faced with choices about what to do, we commonly feel the tug of many different impulses drawing us in different directions all at once, and the most natural explanation for this situ...
Both men lived in 4th century BCE Athens, so much of their background and experience was shared. Aristotle was the younger of the two, and he was Plato’s student. Where leadership is concerned, both philosophers agreed that the “best men” should rule, and that the purpose of leadership was the betterment of the State. They also agreed that education was paramount to forming these best men. They disagreed, however, on whether or not leaders were born with inherent qualities, or if these qualities depend solely on education. They also disagreed about whether or not a strict separation between leaders and followers is required, and what form of government the best State should take.
Plato’s thoughts about power and reason are much different than Aristotle. Plato looked at the meaning of justice and different types of governments. Plato looked into four different types of governments
Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato were two of the most influential and knowledgeable ancients in our history. Their contributions and dedication to science, language and politics are immensely valued centuries later. But while the two are highly praised for their works, they viewed several subjects entirely differently, particularly education practices, and human ethics and virtue.
... state. In Plato's argument for the ideal state, the fundamental bonds which hold together his republic are unity and harmony. He explains how the just state is held together by the unity of each individual in each social class, and harmony between all three social classes. Plato explains how the ideal state must have citizens who are united in their goals. It is not the happiness of the individual but rather the happiness of the whole which keeps the just state ideal. At the same time, Plato argues that there must be harmony within the individual souls which make up the state. The lack of unity and harmony leads to despotism through anarchy which eventually arises within a democracy. Plato makes a clear argument, through The Republic, that without the unity and harmony of the individual and the state there can be no order and therefore there can be no ideal state.
Plato is one of the most important people in the history of Philosophy. Throughout his life, he had made many contributions to the world of philosophy, but the most important contribution that he is most known for is his theory of the Ideas or Forms. Throughout his many works such as the Phaedo and Symposium, he presented his theory of Ideas by using both mythos and logos in his argument for support.