Plato was a dualist and so believed that human beings consisted of two parts- body and soul. This view is portrayed throughout Plato’s famous theory of the Forms of which he suggests that true substances are not physical bodies, but are the eternal Forms that our bodies are merely the imperfect copy. In his Theory he tells of a World of Forms representing knowledge, which he also names the ‘real’ world and the world of Particulars signifying opinions, the world in which we live in. The Forms come from a world of perfection which are illuminated by the Form of the Good which is at the top of the hierarchy and is the source of which the other Forms stemmed from.…
In this paper I will be discussing the view on the forms, of both Plato and Aristotle. For starts, Plato’s views on the Forms are basically describing the true meaning about material objects in the world. Like for example viewing a desk in a class room, should be looked at as more than just what we see, but thousands of atoms put together to make it look like a desk or something like that. His idea of an object was defined by what we might think something is it’s basically a form of something else. He said that we could be sitting on a chair but its quality is of an object which form is that of a chair. This idea of the form by Plato exists in a heavenly realm that could be understood by the mind. Plato’s views on the forms were aspects of everyday life, anything from a table to a bench As well as ideas and emotions. The essence of Plato's theory of Ideas Forms lay in the conscious recognition of the fact that there is a class of entities, in which the best name is probably universal, that are entirely different from sensible things, which is interesting. Plato's theory of Forms assumed that Forms are universal and exist as substances. On the other hand, Aristotle firmly disagrees with the idea of Forms being universal.…
Plato understood that there are concepts that we can all recognise in various things, for example the concept of beauty. We all recognise beauty in art, nature, people, or music, and we all understand the idea when we hear the word used. Although we can all recognise beauty, our opinions of what classes as beautiful are widely varied and subjective. The conclusions Plato drew from this is that beauty must exist, otherwise we would not know it at all. This is the Perfect Form of Beauty. However, we must have only partial knowledge of it or we would not have subjective opinions.…
Plato believed that reality is more than what we sense around the world (e.g. taste, smell, hear, see and touch), he believed that behind these physical realities lies a perfect version of them in which he called Forms and that the greatest thing we can learn is to have knowledge and understanding of them. Plato’s theory means that what we can sense around us (for example a chair) is just a mere shadow of the perfect version which exists in the world of Forms. The perfect version of a chair is one in which for fills its purpose e.g. to be comfortable and to be sat on. Plato believed that everything had a perfect Form, from objects such as pens and books to things such as beauty and justice. He believed that to experience the world of Forms we had to become perfect philosophers.…
As mentioned before, Aristotle has different theories than Plato. He suggests that the forms can be discovered through a examination of the world being natural. Now, Plato believes that forms are farther than what humans can understand, it is way beyond.…
Yet others might disagree with this saying that most people still live in the shadow copy of reality and therefore we can have no clear idea of what reality really is. Even though Plato is theoretically mentioning and discussing the concept of reality in his analogy we can’t prove that the spiritual world is real and if the world of forms is not visible by humans then Plato has no evidence to back his teachings so it is arguably not valid and therefore as Plato has no proper understanding about what reality is and what it isn’t there is no way his analogy can tell us anything about the concept of it.…
Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher living around 400 BCE, came to an belief that as well as the visible world, there was in fact another, separate 'world' which contained the 'Forms'. Forms are what Plato understood to be the reality that lies behind each concept and object in the visible world. Plato was exploring how the human senses know how to categorise objects, animals and concepts, however warped they may be from their mundane Form. He believed there to be a difference between that which we recognise with our senses and that which we understand with our minds, if able to access this 'world of Forms'. Plato thought that what we as humans see in the physical world is flawed, whereas the world…
Plato’s thoughts tended to believe in two levels of reality. Plato held that metaphysics is dualistic: he proposed that there are two different kinds of things - physical and mental. There is what appears real and what is real. Plato believed that everything real takes on a form but doesn't embody that form. on the other hand, Aristotle’s beliefs lead to him seeing only one level of reality. He felt there was only one imminent world and that forms existed within particular things. Aristotle held that form had no separate existence and existed in matter. in nature, we never find matter without form or form without matter. substance is always a composition of form and matter.…
The central ideas that two great philosophers, Plato and Friedrich Nietzsche, talked about were the reality and appearance; and what they mainly focused on is where we as humans stand between these two. Of course, regarding the fact that Plato and Nietzsche lived in different time periods, they had their differences that conflict with each other’s theories. But they do have something to agree upon; they both argue that humans live in an illusory world of our own that we think is reality when we actually are not. One important idea they disagree on is their concepts on what is reality and what is truth. Plato’s theory is mostly based on his cave allegory where he explains human’s conditions. I will explain the similarities and differences between Plato and Nietzsche through the cave allegory.…
For Plato, there exist two worlds: the ever changing material world and the eternal world of Forms. Every material object is modeled after a perfect, eternal Form, but is itself only a flawed, unreal copy. This is his definition of ontology. Where in Aristotle’s point of view, material objects are composed of matter (potential with no properties of its own) and form (its sensible qualities). “Matter + sensible qualities=four elements”. Example: hot: dry, hot: wet, cold: wet, cold: dry. The four elements; fire, air, water and earth. They go from lightest to heaviest. A thing can be described in terms of its four causes. Material cause, the matter making up an object, this is what persists through physical change. Formal cause, the objects sensible qualities, like shape, sixe, color. Agent or efficient cause, what creates or changes the objects, the source of its change. Final cause, the purpose of the object or the goal of its change.…
Excellence is a function which renders excellent the thing of which it is a function is Plato's definition of virtue. What does this definition really mean though? Plato and Aristotle both had their own unique arguments devoted to the topic at hand, and their own ways of describing what virtue really is. Defining virtue may seem to be an easy taste, but to truly understand the arguments behind the definition can prove to be very challenging.…
Numerous experts in modern time regard Plato as the first genuine political philosopher and Aristotle as the first political scientist. They were both great thinkers in regards to, in part with Socrates, being the foundation of the great western philosophers. Plato and Aristotle each had ideas in how to proceed with improving the society in which they were part of during their existence. It is necessary therefore to analyze their different theoretical approaches regarding their philosophical perspectives, such as ethics and psychology. This paper however will mainly concentrate on Aristotle's views on friendship and how it impacts today's society.…
Two of the earliest known men to approach the study of reality, or metaphysics were Plato and his student/rival Aristotle. These two inquisitors of reality looked at it from opposite schools of thought. Plato sought after answers by looking at the world with an outside/in point of view. Meaning he used what he perceived in the world to draw conclusions. Aristotle on the other hand approached the world from an inside/out perspective. He applied his thoughts and beliefs to the world. Aristotle's beliefs lead to him seeing only one level of reality. He felt there was only one imminent world and that forms existed within particular things. Aristotle held that form had no solitary existence and existed in matter. In order to explain that form is an inherent trait of matter he quotes Antiphon and "points out that if you planted a bed and the rotting wood acquired the power of sending up a shoot, it would not be a bed that came up, but wood". (Matthews, pg. 9) To Aristotle the form of the matter was wood and form is the unchanging reality. Plato's view of metaphysics shows two realms to our reality: there is the realm of changing,…
Both Plato and Aristotle are extremely famous and credible philosophers who have very different views on this idea of Forms and the concept of knowledge. Plato first introduces this Theory of Forms, where he recognizes Forms to be the one source to all of knowledge. He describes and explains this theory in many of his works including Phaedo and the allegory of the cave. Then Aristotle criticizes and challenges this idea in his work, Nicomachean Ethics. While both philosophers have extremely persuasive arguments with plenty of details and examples supporting their beliefs, after reading about and comparing both sides of the dispute, I am more on Aristotle’s side.…
Metaphysics became a resounding theory in his ideology questioning the ultimate nature of reality and questioning why the world is as it is. He believed that if something is true than it is always true, for example the sun rises and the sun sets. Plato also had the “realm of Forms” belief that even if it wasn't relative that didn't make it untrue. Simply truth, beauty or justice were example of knowledge of forms, Plato argued, and each no one can touch or see but are there and are innately placed. His…