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
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Aristotle defines virtue in terms of a mean or median. On one end is the excess and on the other the deficiency with the median found somewhere between the two. A sizeable portion of the book is dedicated to discussing these virtues and their excess and deficiency as well as the sphere the virtue falls under. While a majority of the virtues have vices on either side and are found through trial and error somewhere between them‚ the virtue of temperance does not have this quality and is therefore more
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serve to discover the generalities of human thought. Without Aristotle‚ the concept of metaphysics would cease to exist. Taking this into consideration‚ it is evident that Aristotle plays a major part in the study of metaphysics and how we know it today. Therefore‚ he formulated the basic entities of metaphysics and constructed its foundation through his own philosophies. Also‚ after reviewing material presented by Socrates and Plato‚ Aristotle is able to develop an understanding of causes and substance
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Philosophies of Aristotle and Plato Plato and Aristotle both have been very influential as the ancient Greek philosophers. Aristotle was a student of Plato and there are many similarities between these intellectual giants of the ancient world but there are also many things that distinguish them from each other. Aristotle was far more empirical-minded than Plato. First‚ Plato’s philosophy relegated the material‚ physical world to a sort of metaphysical second class. His contention was that the
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According to Aristotle‚ the highest virtue of man is reason. He believes reason is what separates us from other living beings. Without reason‚ we would be no different than animals living on instinct. To understand exactly what he means‚ we must understand how Aristotle defines virtue. Virtue‚ according to Aristotle‚ is the excellence of function. Everything has a specific function and performing that function with excellence leads to having virtue. He believes the unique human function is
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Aristotle believes that we need virtue‚ both of thought and of character‚ to achieve that completeness leading to happiness. This is the function: activity in the soul in accord with virtue‚ where soul is defined as what is in us that carries out our characteristic activity. Aristotle is right in believing we need virtue. The end of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Book I introduces the idea that since happiness is “a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with complete virtue‚ we
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Aristotle/Plato Essay What is the purpose of an examined life? The examined life is a life that is thought through logically and has a clear and distinct view on the world and everything that makes up the world. An examined life also has a logical purpose and goal to strive for and achieve. Not only is this life preferable but also it is necessary‚ which is shown through Plato’s writings in the Five Dialogues‚ that “the unexamined life is not worth living for men” (41‚ Five Dialogues). Without
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Aristotle and Friendship According to Aristotle‚ there are three kinds of friendship based on three kinds of love that unite people. Aristotle defines friendship through the word‚ philia. Philia is the emotional bond between human beings which provides the basis for all forms of social organizations‚ common effort‚ and personal relationships between people. The three kinds of friendship Aristotle explains are utility‚ pleasure‚ and complete friendship. Friendship based on mutual utility
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Aristotle and Thomas Hobbes were two of the most influential philosophers of all time. Aristotle was a Greek Philosopher who was a student of Plato in the 300 B.C. Thomas Hobbes was an English Philosopher in the 16th century who focused mostly on morality and politics. While both of these philosophers studied many other areas of education‚ they are both famous for their own theories of virtue. Aristotle’s beliefs of virtue revolve around “teleology”‚ the highest good and how one achieves that.
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Calmness is defined by Aristotle as he opposite of anger and as the characteristic of meek people. Any mature person will remain calm in front of those who show serious behaviour and do not confront him with contempt‚ but express their respect. Fear is discussed by the philosopher from the point of view of those who may provoke fear and of whom one should be cautious. Worse are the persons who have the power and behave unjustly to the weak and poor. One becomes courageous after having
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