Comparison and contrast between Plato and Aristotle
To compare and contrast the inventions and theories of two great philosophers, first entails examination of the different theories each one of them came up with in depth. Plato as a philosopher is regarded by various experts as the first author of political philosophy, while Aristotle another philosopher is identified as the first author to research and write about political scientist (Grote, 2010). Both the two men are termed as great thinkers because they researched on new ideas and wrote about them.
Plato was a philosopher from Greek between the times of 428/427 BC – 348/347 BC. Most of his works was based on; writing of theoretical dialogues, mathematical logics. He was the originator of the first institute of knowledge in Athens, Western world (Grote, 2010). Alongside with his teacher, Socrates, and Aristotle his student, Plato together with the two, laid the foundation of ordinary philosophy, Western philosophy and science. Plato was the first student of Socrates, and he was thoroughly influenced to think like his teacher when he saw him die an unfair death.
Plato has written and published several of his works in different fashions; this is what has led to numerous conferences being named and referenced after him. His dialogues have been used to teach a variety of subjects, including logistics, philosophical studies, mathematics and calculation, rhetoric, and other subjects he wrote about.
Aristotle was also a Greek philosopher between the time of 384 BC – 322 BC and a student of Plato. His work cover numerous subjects, including musical studies, ethics, zoology, physics and pressure, early poetry, metaphysics, theater and logic(Karamanolis, 2006). Together with his teacher Plato, Aristotle is among the important philosophers in the Western philosophy.
Aristotle’s observations on physical sciences greatly shaped medical studies and their influencing power were felt up to the nineteenth century, until when they were replaced by Newtonian physics. In biological sciences, a number of of his observations were approved to be correct in the nineteenth century. Study of logic, is one of his earliest work, which was integrated to modern formal logic. In metaphysics, he influenced on theological and rational thinking in both Islamic and Jewish traditions (Karamanolis, 2006).
They all had new ideas of how to improve existing community during their person lifetimes. It is therefore essential to look at several aspects of each theory to learn the difference between the two theories. The two philosophers also share more in common since it is indicated that Aristotle was one of the young devoted followers of Plato. He is also stated to be a student of Plato, hence indicating that the two shared a lot of information and characters in common
Both Plato and Aristotle as philosophers hold fundamental different concept of reality. The various hypotheses each man makes about knowledge, truth and goodness directly affect their specific ideas about art. In literary critics, Plato and Aristotle differ profoundly about the significance of art in human society. Plato tries to deny artists the power and reputation they enjoy in his community. However Aristotle attempts to develop a method of inquiry to determine the qualities of an individual in the work of art. It is appealing to note that these two contrasting theories of art are based on similar basic assumption: this type of art is a form of imitation. Both the two philosophers are aimed at the artist’s ability to have major impact on others especially in the community. It is the imitative part of art that promotes contempt in Plato and curiosity in Aristotle.
The key focus of Plato in his theory is the idea of a perfect society. He generates an outline for the community of utopian, in one his book: The Republic. He wrote this book out of his scorn for the tension of political regime (Grote, 2010). This outline was a rough sketch of a society in which the troubles he thought were present in his community would be eased (Grote, 2010). Plato as a philosopher, sought to cure the sufferings of both the human being society and personality. Essentially what Plato wanted to achieve with his theory was a perfect community.
Aristotle the great philosopher, unlike Plato, had no concerned with making a society to become perfect. His main idea was the different ways in which he could come up new projects and how he could implement them to develop the existing community. Rather than create a drawing of the perfect society on a piece of paper like Plato, Aristotle as a philosopher decided to use a different style in his book, The Politics. He vividly states that the community itself should come up with the best possible solution to the system that they wanted to attain in the future
In his work, The Poetics, Aristotle tries to articulate a technique of inquiry, not a firm system but a solution to a tragedy (Karamanolis, 2006). Tragedy tries to emulate the complicated world of human actions, and yet tragedy itself is part of a larger, more complex world of human existence. This is true since each person imitates lesson and character from others.
The two philosophers have many differences than similarities. This is because each one of them wanted to try his best to disapprove the other. However, credit is given to Plato since he was like a teacher to Aristotle and the fact that Aristotle did not reject the old ideas but rather used them to build his arguments.
Reference
Grote, G. (2010). Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, Cambridge Library Collection – Classics, Volume 1 of Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates 3 Volume Paperback Set, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Karamanolis, G. (2006). Plato and Aristotle in agreement?: Platonists on Aristotle from Antiochus to Porphyry, Oxford philosophical monographs, Oxford scholarship online, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Garin, E & Pinton, G. (2008). History of Italian philosophy, Volume 1, Value inquiry book series
History of Italian Philosophy, New York: Pinton Rodopi express
