Do you want to know more about the difference between Aristotle and Plato? Then make sure you read this essay example! Here, you’ll find information on Aristotle and Plato differences in views on philosophy, politics, and more.
Plato and Aristotle Difference: Essay Introduction
Aristotle and Plato are two celebrated philosophers of ancient Greece who made significant contributions in different fields of humanities, philosophy, and science. Although their teachings inform our understanding of politics, science, and ethics, throughout the centuries, the works of Aristotle have been celebrated more than Pluto’s works. For example, the fields of science and logical reasoning have greatly relied on the works of Aristotle to develop important conceptions of scientific reasoning in this discipline (Allen, Rees & Davies, 2002). This paper highlights the main differences between the views of Aristotle and Plato based on their contributions to different subject areas, including science, political theory, ethics, and philosophical thought. It demonstrates that Plato was mostly concerned with the superficial elements of human beings and their environment. His teachings were idealistic and centered on understanding the inner being of our world. Comparatively, we show that Aristotle focused on the outer being of the universe and its elements. We also demonstrate that his views were practical and related to the relational parts of our existence. Comprehensively, in this paper, we deduce that Plato relied on inductive reasoning to develop his philosophies, while Aristotle relied on deductive reasoning to do the same.
Aristotle and Plato Differences in Views
Philosophy
Plato and Aristotle differed in philosophical thought based on their conceptions of universality. Plato believed that all objects of the universe have a universal form (Allen et al., 2002). He meant that all objects could be ideal because of their universality. However, Aristotle had a different view of the same issue in the sense that he believed that not all objects had a sense of universality. Instead, he argued that the universality, or idealism, of objects, had to be assigned to them (Politis, 2004). This point of philosophical difference explains why Plato’s thoughts were idealistic, while Aristotle’s thoughts were realistic (Aristotelian Empiricism). Plato believed that conducting simple experiments could easily ascertain the qualities of an object, while Aristotle believed that observing objects would provide a more accurate representation of what they were about (Allen et al., 2002). Simply, their difference comes from the fact that Aristotle was inclined to use deductive reasoning to explain his philosophical thoughts, while Plato preferred to use inductive reasoning to do the same.
Plato also drew our attention to the role of the spirit in dictating human actions. He said the spirit is eternal and mostly contemplates ideas and actions through reminiscing (Allen et al., 2002). He also looked at the soul as “pure” and its merger with the body as an erosion of its purity (Wood, 2005). Plato believed that the soul has two main parts – the upper part and the lower part. The upper part is comprised of reason and the contemplative faculty (Politis, 2004). These attributes help it to merge with the attributes of the lower part, which include courage, nobility, and generosity (Politis, 2004). Comparatively, Aristotle was not interested in the inner understanding of the “being” as described above; instead, he was more into understanding the relationship between human beings and other things or elements in life (Wood, 2005).
Ethics
Perhaps the biggest distinction between the views of Plato and Aristotle is their views on ethics. Plato was open about his conception of ethics by saying that knowledge is a virtue (Politis, 2004). Implicitly, this statement means that having knowledge about the right thing to do is akin to doing the right thing. Therefore, Aristotle argued that it was possible to change the world by teaching people to do the “right thing.” His views are deemed to lean on the practical understanding of ethics. Plato had a more theoretical understanding of ethics in the sense that he believed that wisdom (and not learning) is the basis of ethics. In fact, according to Reale (1990), Plato argued that wisdom unified all virtues. Aristotle differed with this point of view by arguing that, although wisdom was virtuous, being virtuous was not automatic (Allen et al., 2002).
He also argued that achieving virtue did not grant the unification of other virtues (Allen et al., 2002). Therefore, in Aristotle’s words, wisdom could not be achieved without making an effort. In other words, unless a person made an effort to be wise, he would not be able to unite other virtues, thereby making the virtues out of reach. Aristotle’s views compare with those of Plato in the sense that he also believed that virtue was necessary for happiness. However, he did not agree with the philosophy that this happiness was automatic. Instead, he argued that there needed to be adequate social constructs to help virtuous people achieve true happiness (Reale, 1990). According to Politis (2004), the views of the Greeks were more accustomed to adopting the views of Aristotle, as opposed to those of Plato.
Science
As in ethics and philosophy, the views of Plato and Aristotle exposed significant differences in how both philosophers conceived science. According to Reale (1990), the views of Aristotle, in this subject area, significantly dwarfed those of Plato. The reason for this outcome is the fact that Aristotle’s works were more practical than those of Plato. In other words, most of Plato’s works were exploratory, as opposed to practical. Although Plato wrote a lot of literature in different fields of science, such as geometry, physics, and biology, his works did not significantly contribute to the growth of knowledge in these scientific areas. Comparatively, Aristotle helped to contribute significantly to the growth of scientific knowledge in different fields. Although his works overshadowed those of Plato, some people criticize them for their lack of originality (Allen et al., 2002). Nonetheless, his works were insightful and although they are inapplicable in some scientific fields today, they helped to open lines of inquiry into scientific research.
Political Theory
Plato’s views on political theory suggested that people should sacrifice their individual interests and desires for the greater good of society, if harmony was to be achieved in human societies (Politis, 2004). He also advocated for a Utopian government that comprised of three classes of people – philosophers, warriors, and workers and argued that people who were most qualified should run the government (Politis, 2004). In his view, these people were philosophical rulers. In other words, he believed that the elites should take control of the government and govern those who were “less fortunate.” Aristotle’s views merge with those of Plato in the sense that he believed people’s interests should supersede those of the family, or an individual. Aristotle termed this political unit as the “city” (Reale, 1990). He also argued that people should always involve themselves in politics because human beings are political in nature (Wood, 2005).
This is why many researchers say Aristotle encouraged the use of democracy as the main political system. His views were informed by his conviction of the fact that people need to be engaged in the political system. The way to do so was through democracy. Comparatively, Plato advocated for an elitist system whereby the educated wield power over those who were not. Using the democratic view of political leadership, Aristotle looked at the political system as an organ, as opposed to a system, or machine. His view of the role of polis (city) is confined to the fact that the government should create a positive environment for its citizens to thrive and create beautiful things. Using this analogy, he did not believe that the role of government should be creating economic stability or promoting justice. Nonetheless, Aristotle was among the first philosophers to move beyond political rhetoric and engage in political processes that would benefit all human societies.
Difference between Plato and Aristotle: Essay Conclusion
In this paper, we have seen the main differences between the views of Aristotle and Plato. We have focused our analysis on their contributions towards philosophical thought, political theory, science and ethics. Through the differences in methodology and content of the views of both researchers in the above-mentioned subject areas, it is worth noting that the views of Plato were idealistic and those of Aristotle were pragmatic. This is why many people could relate to the concepts of Aristotle and only use Plato’s views as guiding principles. Additionally, this difference explains why Aristotle’s views opened new lines of inquiry into different philosophical and scientific fields. Generally, based on these findings, we find that Plato relied on inductive reasoning to formulate his philosophical views, while Aristotle relied on deductive reasoning. Although the works of both philosophers are not considered particularly useful in today’s modern and fast-paced world, they have a great historical value to modern societies.
References
Allen, M., Rees, V., & Davies, M. (2002). Marsilio Ficino: His Theology, His Philosophy, His Legacy. New York, NY: BRILL.
Politis, V. (2004). Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Aristotle and the Metaphysics. New York, NY: Psychology Press.
Reale, G. (1990). A History of Ancient Philosophy II: Plato and Aristotle. New York, NY: SUNY Press.
Wood, L. (2005). God and History. New York, NY: Emeth Press.