To compare the political theories of two great philosophers of .
politics is to first examine each theory in depth. Plato is regarded .
by many experts as the first writer of political philosophy, and .
Aristotle is recognized as the first political scientist. These two .
men were great thinkers. They each had ideas of how to improve .
existing societies during their individual lifetimes. It is necessary .
to look at several areas of each theory to seek the difference in .
each. .
The main focus of Plato is a perfect society. He creates a .
blueprint for a utopian society, in his book The Republic, out of his .
disdain for the tension of political life (Hacker, 24). This blueprint .
was a sketch of a society in which the problems he thought were .
present in his society would be eased (Hacker 24). Plato sought to .
cure the afflictions of both human society and human personality .
(Hacker 24). Essentially what Plato wants to achieve is a perfect .
society. .
Aristotle, unlike Plato, is not concerned with perfecting .
society. He just wants to improve on the existing one. Rather than .
produce a blueprint for the perfect society, Aristotle suggested, in .
his work, The Politics, that the society itself should reach for the .
best possible system that could be attained (Hacker 71). Aristotle .
relied on the deductive approach, while Aristotle is an example of an .
inductive approach (Hacker 71). Utopia is a solution in abstract, a .
solution that has no concrete problem (Hacker 76). There is no solid .
evidence that all societies are in need of such drastic reformation as .
Plato suggests (Hacker 76). Aristotle discovers that the best possible .
has already been obtained (Hacker 76). All that can be done is to try .
to improve on the existing one. .
Plato's utopia consists of three distinct, non-hereditary .
class systems (Hacker 32). The Guardians consist of non ruling .
Guardians and ruling Guardians. The non-rulers are a higher level of .
civil servants and the ruling is the society's policy makers (Hacker .
Plato vs. ... Two of these critics are Plato and Sir Philip Sydney. ... There are disagreements between Plato and Sydney. ... Plato believes that " poetry and mythology are, in some cases, wholly imitative" (Plato 14). ... Also, according to Plato " no one man can imitate many things" (Plato 14). ...
The beliefs of Plato and Aristotle can be both valid and invalid in many different ways. ... Aristotle believes in experience as reason and Plato does not. ... In relation to this issue of physical senses vs. emotional senses, such an example to compare and contrast the two is sex. ... This is in too many cases false and an instance that sides me a bit with Plato. ... This instance however, also makes me disagree with Plato as well. ...
Aristotle was Plato's student. ... (Palmer, p.59) in the allegory of the cave: Sensible Realm vs. ... That is why Plato says of the Good that it is beyond being and knowledge. ... Aristotle refutes Plato's Theory of Forms using the third man argument. ... Plato focuses more on Forms, like how objects participates in Forms. ...
A case in point is the prevalent acceptance of Plato's dichotomy between mind/soul and body. This distinction has been presented in many forms : real vs ideal; spirit vs flesh; earthly vs ethereal; temporal vs eternal; imperfect vs perfect. ... In Plato's eyes, doing philosophy is separating the soul from the body, precisely so that one is not thinking about the here and now. ... Both accepted Plato's dualism, but simply picked opposite sides of the same coin. ... The bane of modern philosophy is that Plato's successor corrected his mistake, and erased the contradiction...
Plato Plato, an Athenian Greek of an upper class aristocratic family, and an active philosopher in the first half of the fourth century B.C. born in 427 B.C. ... Plato believed that the form came in three phases, Idea, Morph, and Eidos. Idea (ideen) was what Plato called the first glimpse of something. ... Plato's belief in qualities is present in today's religious society. ... Plato describes the Recollection a cycle. ...
Plato's utopia appears, at first, to be an excellent idea. ... Plato agrees with the second definition. ... Plato organizes people into three categories. ... Plato is distrustful of human nature. ... Aristotle views Plato's ideal city as unrealistic. ...
Plato Plato is one of the most important philosophers in ancient Greek philosophy. ... Also, Plato learned that the goal of philosophy is to understand the general concept. ... Plato refers to reason as the good, the true, the beautiful, courage and justice. ... In this level Plato refers to imagination. ... According to the article Plato's Republic by Jenny Hen, Plato makes a connection between the principle of justice and his Theory of Forms. ...
Class Divisions in Plato's Ideal State In his search for justice in The Republic, Plato describes three separate class divisions in the ideal state. The philosophers who possess knowledge, the warriors who possess courage, and the common man who lives to fulfill their wants make up the Plato's class hierarchy and form the basis for Plato's efficient city. The three virtues that Plato describes are wisdom, courage, and moderation. ... Plato states that, "a man that is devoid of spirit cannot possibly make a good guardian." This constitutes a second class of warriors in Plato&...
