Plato's and Aristotle's Worldviews
Angela Antoine
7-03-2011
PHI 103 Intro to Philosophy and Ethics
Professor Ted Rueter
Plato’s and Aristotle’s Worldviews
|Worldview Belief |Metaphysics |Epistemology |Ethics |Anthropology |God |
|Plato |Dual realities. The lower |Knowledge is gained only by |If a human possesses a virtuous |Dual parts. The body and soul |The Form of the Good. If the |
| |physical world and the upper |reason and then only as human |character, their conduct will be|are separate |Form of the Good did not exist, |
| |world of the Forms. |reason understands the Forms. |morally acceptable. | |nothing else would exist. |
|Aristotle |Every being, except God, is a |Reason and sensation are |Moral virtue is stable states of|Both body and soul are essential|Pure actuality. Form without |
| |composite of form and matter. |integral parts of the knowing |the soul which enable a person |parts of a human being and are |matter. An unchanging being who|
| | |process. |to make right decisions about |connected. |is the ultimate cause of |
| | | |how to act. | |everything that exists. |
Plato Plato opposed hedonism because he did not believe that pleasure was the highest good. He recognized that some pleasures were evil. His ethics were that if a human being possessed a virtuous character, their conduct will be morally acceptable.
7-03-2011
PHI 103 Intro to Philosophy and Ethics
Professor Ted Rueter
Plato’s and Aristotle’s Worldviews
|Worldview Belief |Metaphysics |Epistemology |Ethics |Anthropology |God |
|Plato |Dual realities. The lower |Knowledge is gained only by |If a human possesses a virtuous |Dual parts. The body and soul |The Form of the Good. If the |
| |physical world and the upper |reason and then only as human |character, their conduct will be|are separate |Form of the Good did not exist, |
| |world of the Forms. |reason understands the Forms. |morally acceptable. | |nothing else would exist. |
|Aristotle |Every being, except God, is a |Reason and sensation are |Moral virtue is stable states of|Both body and soul are essential|Pure actuality. Form without |
| |composite of form and matter. |integral parts of the knowing |the soul which enable a person |parts of a human being and are |matter. An unchanging being who|
| | |process. |to make right decisions about |connected. |is the ultimate cause of |
| | | |how to act. | |everything that exists. |
Plato Plato opposed hedonism because he did not believe that pleasure was the highest good. He recognized that some pleasures were evil. His ethics were that if a human being possessed a virtuous character, their conduct will be morally acceptable.
References: Nash, R. H. (1999). Life’s ultimate questions: An introduction to philosophy. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.