Plato vs. Aristotle Essay

Plato and Aristotle, ii philosophers in the 4th century, hold polar look outs on governing and philosophy in general. This detail is very(prenominal) modishly illustrated by Raphaels School of Athens (1510-11 Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican), where Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher(prenominal) shapes and Aristotle is targeting down because he supports the congenital sciences. In a discussion of politics, the tie point of individually philosopher becomes an essential factor. It is non cooccurring that Plato states in The land that Philosopher Rulers who possess lastledge of the right should be the governors in a city state.His blind drunk interest in metaphysics is demonstrated in The body politic various times for modelling, the similes of the cave, the sun, and the line, and his theory of the forms. Because he is so involved in metaphysics, his cods on politics ar more theoretical as opposed to developed. Aristotle, contrarily, holds the view that p olitics is the art of ruling and being control in turn. In The Politics, he attempts to outline a way of governing that would be precedent for an actual state. Balance is a main word in discussing Aristotle because he believes it is the necessary ele handst to creating a motionless governmental sympathies.His less metaphysical approach to politics makes Aristotle more in tune with the modern world, yet he is far from modern. Platos concept of what politics and authorities should be is a direct result of his popular opinion in the theory of forms. The theory of forms basic whollyy states that thither is a higher form for everything that outlives in the world. from each aceness material thing is simply a representation of the real thing which is the form. According to Plato, most circle cannot see the forms, they plainly see their representation or their shadows, as in the simile of the cave.Only those who sleep together knowledge and contemplate on the reality of thin gs entrust achieve come acrossing of the forms. Philosophers, who by definition argon knowledge lovers, be the only beings who can domain true knowledge. This concept has to be taken a step further because in The Republic, Plato states that philosophers should be the rulers since they atomic number 18 the only one and only(a)s who hold the form of the ripe. Plato seems to be proverb that it is not enough to know the forms of tables or trees, one must know the greatest formform of the goodin effectuate to rule.The reasoning is if you know the good, then you will do the good. Therefore, philosopher rulers are by far the most apt to rule. In The Republic, Plato builds just about the idea of Philosopher Rulers. Even though it is not his master(a) point, it truely is at the core of his discussion of the exalted state. The question that arises is, Why do you need saint states which will present philosophers as rulers? There are many layers to the coiffe of this questio n. The first thing is that a state cannot be lofty without having philosophers as rulers.This answer leads to the question, Then why do you need ensample states to begin with? The Republic rootages with a discussion of arbitrator which leads to the creation of the ideal state. The reason why an ideal state is needed is to guarantee the existence of Justice. This does not mean, though, that in that location cannot be states without Justice. Actu every(prenominal)y, Plato provides at least two reasons why the formation of a state cannot be avoided.These are 1. human beings are not self-sufficing so they need to live in a social environment, and 2.each person has a ingrained skill for a specified task and should concentrate on developing it (The Republic, pp 56-62). Although a person is not self-sufficient, a composition of communitya statesatisfies the necessitate of all its members. Furthermore, members can specialize on their natural fortitudes and become more productive members of society.States are issue to form, whether purposefully or coincidentally. For this reason, certain rules guide to be enacted for the well-being of the state. The main way to institutionalize rules is by means of government and in the form of laws.Platos The Republic is not an explication of laws of the hoi polloi. It is a separation of power amongst tercet buildesRulers, Auxiliaries, Commonersthat makes the most of each persons natural abilities and strives for the good of the community. The point is to create a harmonised unity amongst the three classes which will lead to the great good of the community and, consequently, each single(a). The three classes are a product of different aptitude levels for certain tasks amid various individuals. Plato assigns different political portions to different members of each class.It appears that the only classes that are allowed to participate in government are the Auxiliaries and, of course, the Philosopher Rulers. The c ommence class does not tinct in politics because they are not mentally able. In other words, they do not understand the concept of the forms. Thus, it is better to allow the Philosophers, who do founder this knowledge, to lead them. Providing food and abode for the Guardians is the only governmental responsibility the lower class has. The Auxiliaries are in charge of the military, police, and executive duties.Ruling and making laws is silent for the Philosopher Rulers whose actions are all intended for the good of the state. To tell that public good continues to be foremost on each Rulers agenda, the Rulers live in community housing, hold wives/children in common, and do not own private property. The separation of classes is understood by everybody Self-interest, which could be a negative factor in the scheme of things, is eliminated through a very good oriented education system. All these provisions are generated to maintain unity of the state.The most extravagant aid that Pl ato takes is the Foundation Myth of the metals. By making the people believe, through a myth, that the distinction of each class is biological as well as moral, Plato reassures that at that place wont be any fault in the harmony of the state. Whereas Platos The Republic is a text whose goal is to define Justice and in doing so uses the polis, Aristotles The Politicss touch on function is to define itselfdefine politics. Aristotle begins his text by answering the question Why does the state exist? His answer is that the state is the culmination of natural associations that start with the joining of man and woman (pair), which have a family and form a household households aggregate and form villages villages unite and form the state. This natural order of events is what is best because it provides for the needs of all the individuals. Aristotle, like Plato, believes that a person is not self-reliant. This lack of sufficiency is the gas pedal in the escalating order of unions amon g people. In The Politics, it appears that Aristotle is not very set on breaking down society.His pedigree says that there are different classes in society, further they are naturally defined. For example, he devotes a fate of time to an explanation of the purity of slaves and their role in society. Aristotle is also very sexist and explicitly states so. His view is that women are inferior to men in all senses. Perhaps the most pertaining to our discussion is the citizen, whose role is strictly political. Both Plato and Aristotle seem to agree that some people are not capable of practicing an active role in political life.Platos reason is that the lower class is not mentally adept for the intricacies of higher knowledge on the good. Aristotle seems to base his opinion on a more political issue. He believes that only those that fully participate in their government should be considered citizens of the state. For this reason, he excludes workers as citizens because they would not have the call for time to openly participate in politicking. The wayfaring polis, as opposed to Platos, is a city with a large middle class which promotes stability and balances the contrast claims of the poor and the rich.Aristotle combines elements of democracy with elements of aristocracy, again to balance fence claims. Because he is aware that human interest is an unresolvable entity, the distribution of scarce and valuable goods is in harmonize to contribution to the good of the polis. This system provides for the self raise who believe that those who work harder should receive more. Another point is that the citizens rule and are ruled in turn, as yet as the mixed social system allows. This is permissible because of the strong involvement of the citizens in government it is what one would call a true democracy. Overall, a relish of moderation prevails. The philosophies of Aristotle and Plato have been around for over xvi centuries, yet today it is difficult to find special instances where either philosophy is applied. This may be a result of the fact that todays political philosophy differs from both philosophers. tour Aristotle and Plato uphold the good of the community or state above individual good, todays ecesis includes a charge up of rights that guarantees the rights of each individual in the nation. Having these individual rights is a necessity for todays citizens.Going covering in history to 1787 will show that one of the reasons there was controversy in the ratification of the constitution was that it did not include a notification of Rights. When the drafters promised that as soon as the constitution was ratified, a Bill of Rights would be added, the doubting states proceeded to ratify it. According to Plato and Aristotle, a Bill of Rights is not necessary because it does not remediate the good of the community. Another point of discrepancy in the midst of the philosophers and todays society involves the topic of slavery.Aris totle argues for the naturalness of slavery in The Politics, yet slavery has been considered rattling(a) for quite some time. In correlation to slavery, there is the undermining of the female population by Aristotle. Although Plato is a lot less discriminatory, he also believes women are the sub-species. While women have had to fight endless battles to achieve the science they deserve, today it is a well accepted fact (generally) that women are as capable as men in performing tasks.Naturally, since Aristotle and Plato have been around for such a long time, our society certainly contains some of their influences in a general sense. For example, today it is believed that certain people are born with certain capacities. intelligence information has been attributed to genetics. Because of the different intelligence levels among people, we have different classesfor example advanced, intermediate, and beginners. In their appropriate level, each person develops his or her abilities to the highest potential. This concept is sometimes at odds with the ideal of equality, ie. we are all human beings.Yet, in essence, it does not take away from the ideal because we are all humans, but we differ in certain capacitor levels to complete tasks. Platos and Aristotles philosophy have helped shape present thought, though, by no means, regulation our practices. The philosophers are very community oriented patch we value the individual. Besides differing with todays standards, each philosopher is in his own way distinct. Plato is very attracted to metaphysical philosophy, while Aristotle is much more methodical. Both attitude views are and will continue to puzzle students for years to come.