Plato vs. Aristotle
Plato and Aristotle, two philosophers in the 4th century, hold polar views on politics and philosophy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphael's "School of Athens" (1510-11; Stanza della Segnatura,
Vatican), where Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher forms; and Aristotle is pointing down because he supports the natural sciences. In a discussion of politics, the stand point of each philosopher becomes an essential factor. It is not coincidental that Plato states in The Republic that Philosopher Rulers who possess knowledge of the good should be the governors in a city state. His strong interest in metaphysics is demonstrated in The Republic various times: for example, the similes of the cave, the sun, and the line, and his theory of the forms. Because he is so involved in metaphysics, his views on politics are more theoretical as opposed to actual. Aristotle, contrarily, holds the view that politics is the art of ruling and being ruled in turn. In The Politics, he attempts to outline a way of governing that would be ideal for an actual state. Balance is a main word in discussing Aristotle because he believes it is the necessary element to creating a stable government. His less metaphysical approach to politics makes Aristotle more in tune with the modern world, yet he is far from modern.
Plato's concept of what politics and government should be is a direct result of his belief in the theory of forms. The theory of forms basically states that there is a higher "form" for everything that exists in the world.
Each material thing is simply a representation of the real thing which is the form. According to Plato, most people cannot see the forms, they only see their representation or their shadows, as in the simile of the cave. Only those who love knowledge and contemplate on the reality of things will achieve understanding of the forms. Philosophers, who by definition are knowledge lovers, are the only beings who can reach true knowledge. This concept has to be taken a step further because in The Republic, Plato states that philosophers should be the rulers since they are the only ones who hold the form of the good.
Plato seems to be saying that it is not enough to know the forms of tables or trees, one must know the greatest form--form of the good--in order to rule. The reasoning is: if you know the good, then you will do the good. Therefore, philosopher rulers are by far the most apt to rule.
In The Republic, Plato builds around the idea of Philosopher Rulers.
In the story by his name, Hop-Frog is not only physically dwarfed by the King but is dwarfed in terms of bodily capabilities, wealth, social standing, and even in numbers as he and Trippetta are but two against the King and his 7 ministers. However, Hop-Frog emerges victorious, as his mental capabilities are seemingly far greater than the Kings. The King is described as having “an especial admiration for breadth in a jest, and would often put up with length, for the sake of it” (Poe, 502). It becomes apparent that the King is not a smart man and his jester is indeed quite the opposite. The fact that Hop-Frog knows of the King’s weaknesses and tailors a perfect plan for vengeance to fit the occasion of the masque ball is a testament to his creativity and most useful utilization of information. In the Purloined Letter, the useful utilization of information, which is by keeping such information hostage, again allows for great power in government. In these two stories we are given the message that information is most valuable and leads to power. In reality, Poe also made good use of information in order to gain a wider subscriptio...
Hamilton uses fears of past despotism in monarchies and encroachments in representative bodies to persuade people to see that this essential law of good behavior “is the best expedient which can be devised in any government to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws.” (Hamilton.Jay.Madison 100)
A longstanding debate in human history is what to do with power and what is the best way to rule. Who should have power, how should one rule, and what its purpose should government serve have always been questions at the fore in civilization, and more than once have sparked controversy and conflict. The essential elements of rule have placed the human need for order and structure against the human desire for freedom, and compromising between the two has never been easy. It is a question that is still considered and argued to this day. However, the argument has not rested solely with military powers or politicians, but philosophers as well. Two prominent voices in this debate are Plato and Machiavelli, both of whom had very different ideas of government's role in the lives of its people. For Plato, the essential service of government is to allow its citizens to live in their proper places and to do the things that they are best at. In short, Plato's government reinforces the need for order while giving the illusion of freedom. On the other hand, Machiavelli proposes that government's primary concern is to remain intact, thereby preserving stability for the people who live under it. The feature that both philosophers share is that they attempt to compromise between stability and freedom, and in the process admit that neither can be totally had.
mere jester in the eyes of the King, because he was also a cripple and
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hop Frog” and “Cask of Amontillado” there are comparable elements of Gothic literature. The two main ones are sounds and an isolated protagonist. In “Cask of Amontillado” the main character is speaking to his victim and says “You are a man to be missed, as I once was” (Poe). This is saying that no one cares about him. In “Hop Frog” the main character is a dwarf who didn’t walk normal. A manifestation of this from the text says, “In fact, Hop-Frog could only get along by a sort of interjectional gait -- something between a leap and a wriggle -- a movement that afforded illimitable amusement..” (Poe). Because of his disability, he was laughed at and considered anomalous. The other element is sound. In both
Well, like Plato, again, I favor the concept of having a philosopher-king has a ruler. Like Plato describes, a philosopher-king will be best able to make decisions for the people, without outside influence get in the way of making them. When leaders become too caught up in trying to make everyone happy, I believe they lose their power to truly be effect at doing what is best for the whole. It is not the job of the ruler to impose his own beliefs upon his people, but rather do his best to maintain the best quality of life the states can give to its people. Multiple people with potential should be chosen, as prescribed in my system of aiding children to find their best suited job, and then from that pool only the best can be chosen to be the philosopher-king. The rest, shall be placed on a position on the court, for you would also want a person who is unbiased to give the best verdict over a case. Another court power, is that they will serve as a check over the philosopher-king to make sure the philosopher-kings stays true to his impartiality when making decisions, and retain the ability to make the best decision for all. Also, in this system that court will be the ones, being an uninfluenced body, to place children in their best career. In continuation, the only area of government which shall remain in the selection of the people, and the legislature,
The first degree of belief are physical objects, as the second degree of belief are shadows and images of the physical objects. In the last book, Plato criticizes poetry and the fine arts. Plato feels that art is merely the imitation of the imitation of reality, and that poetry corrupts the soul. Socrates says that artists merely create things. As an example, if a painter draws a couch on his canvas, he is creating a couch. But the couch he creates is not the real couch, it is nothing but a copy of an ordinary, physical couch which was created by a craftsman. But the ordinary, physical couch is nothing more than an imperfect copy, or image of the Form of Couch. So, the couch on the canvas is nothing but a copy of a copy of the real couch and is therefore three times removed from reality. Socrates then goes on to explain that an artist's knowledge is also third-rate. If an artist is painting a picture of a table, for example, he is copying a table that has been manufactured by a furniture-maker, and this furniture-maker has more knowledge of the table than the painter does. But there is someone who has ever more knowledge about the table, the person who wants to have the table made. He is the one who gives the furniture-maker instructions to follow when making the table, according to its purpose for the buyer. So, the buyer of the table knows more about the table than the furniture-maker, and the furniture-maker knows more about the table than the painter.
Modern sciences have either directly emerged from philosophy or are very closely related to multiple philosophical questions. Understanding philosophy, as well as the way problems are addressed by philosophers, is the key to understanding science as we know it today and in the future. There are as many definitions of philosophy as there are philosophers – perhaps there are even more. Philosophy is said to be the mother of all disciplines. It is also the oldest of all disciplines and has given a rise to modern science, both social and natural conclusions. After three millennia of philosophical discourse and disagreement, it is extremely unlikely that we will reach an exact consensus. My thoughts are that a philosopher is basically a person who engages in the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a particular branch of knowledge, especially with the intention of improving or reconstituting them; this is otherwise known as the study of philosophy.
Lastly Mills highlights how a truly democratic state can be achieved. There is a need for a public that acts a medium for true political change, skilled men who form the higher powers of the state and have no vested corporate interests, dependable parties that debate openly and lucidly the problems faced by the world and finally liberated institutions between the public and the elite that act as proponent for the public opinion.
The story Hop Frog by Edgar Allen Poe is about power and the act of revenge. Poe takes his time in the beginning of the story to establish Hope-Frog’s” character. The readers are informed that Hop-Frog was born a dwarf, and exploited by the king because of his abnormality. By opening with Hop-Frog’s appearance Poe is evoking sympathy from the readers for the main character. Poe compares Hop- Frog appearance to “resembling a squirrel or a small monkey rather than a frog” (2). The act of de-familiarizing the character justifies the King’s action of ridiculing and humiliating Hope- Frog because he was seen as less of a man. The tyrannical ways of the King ultimately drives Hop-Frog to seek revenge for Trippetta, his friend and himself. Despite
In each story Poe introduces the characters weaknesses and strengths establishing the protagonist's fear of being overshadowed by the father figure's power. In "Metzengerstein", Poe points out that Metzengerstein is of an older family, younger, and wealthier than Berlifitzing, but isn't the superior character. Berlifitzing is the superior character because he's older, of a higher rank, (count), and able to look down "into the very windows of the palace Metzengerstein." In "The Tell Tale Heart" Poe makes the wealthy, old man the superior character by symbolizing his eye as authority constantly watching over the servant or tenet, (the inferior character). In "Hop Frog", the writer makes Hop Frog the inferior character by pointing out his defects and constraints. Hop Frog is a crippled dwarf who is held captive by the King and forced to be his fool. Unlike the other stories Hop Frog has an accomplice Trippetta, which is also a dwarf, held captive by the king. The King is of course the father figure because of his power, riches, and "large corpulent" body.
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.
Plato and Aristotle both established important ideas about politics and their government. The general idea these two men wrote about were tyranny and the rule of law. What the rule of law is stating is that no one is immune from the law, even the people who are in a position of power. The rule of law served as a safeguard against tyranny because laws just ensure that rulers don’t become more corrupt. These two philosophers explored political philosophy and even though they didn’t agree on much they’re impacts are still around the world today.
For over two thousand years, various philosophers have questioned the influence of art in our society. They have used abstract reasoning, human emotions, and logic to go beyond this world in the search for answers about arts' existence. For philosophers, art was not viewed for its own beauty, but rather for the question of how art and artists can help make our society more stable for the next generation. Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived during 420-348 B.C. in Athens, and Aristotle, Plato’s student who argued against his beliefs, have no exceptions to the steps they had to take in order to understand the purpose of art and artists. Though these two philosophers made marvelous discoveries about the existence of art, artists, and aesthetic experience, Plato has made his works more controversial than Aristotle.
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.