Critically compare and contrast the views on human nature of any two of the thinkers studied in this unit. Which, in your judgement, is the more persuasive of the two views? Why?.
Plato and Aristotle come to very different conclusions about the aspects that occupy the central understanding of human nature. Both men possessed a superior intellect; indeed, this is an illustrative example of how, their fundamental differences included the theory of the forms, immortality and their contrasting views on human virtues. They differ radically in these issues, but are close in others, such as their view that the soul is the form of the body.
As an example of their fundamental differences, we can take Aristotle's critique of Plato's theory of the forms. Aristotle critiques Plato's forms as only abstract copies of actual things or beings. As such the forms do not provide any explanation of the existence of such thing or how they change consequently for that reason and several others, I believe Aristotle to have the more persuasive argument on the "forms". .
.
In the philosophy of Plato, the word "form" has a special meaning. Plato saw the cosmos divided into the sensible world (made up of things we know through the senses) and the intelligible world (made up of things we know through the intellect). The things we know through intellect, Plato called "forms" (Pinchin, 1990). Forms could not be seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelt, nor did they exist in space or time. Instead forms were perfect ideas that existed eternally. Particular things in the sensible world; things that could be tasted, touched, seen, heard and smelt, were merely imperfect reflections of these ideal forms. In order to explain how sensible things come into being, Plato relies on the idea of participation. A table comes into being; he believes it participates in the form of "tableness". .
In contrast, Aristotle opposed Plato's theory of the forms for they did not explain the existence of such thing or how they change.
Aristotle was Plato's student. Aristotle managed to be a devoted student even though he disagreed with Plato on his theories. ... (Palmer, p.59) in the allegory of the cave: Sensible Realm vs. ... Aristotle refutes Plato's Theory of Forms using the third man argument. ... Though there are similarities between the theories of Plato and Aristotle they are different in a big way. ...
The beliefs of Plato and Aristotle can be both valid and invalid in many different ways. ... Personally, as I mentioned already, I think neither is completely valid and I also believe that without Plato's views coming into play, Aristotle's views are quite passé. ... Although regardless I do ultimately agree with the ideas of Aristotle over those of Plato, I also feel that ultimate agreement with Plato in this essay would be somewhat illogical and contradicting of the itinerary expected. Aristotle believes in experience as reason and Plato does not. ... In relation to this ...
In addition, in The Politics Aristotle critiques Plato's ideal city and offers his own model for society. ... Aristotle views Plato's ideal city as unrealistic. Aristotle claims that Plato does not take into consideration Greek traditions and societal structure. ... Aristotle also states that there are dangers in Plato's proposed artisan class. ... Although Aristotle thinks that Plato is too idealistic, the two agree on some things. ...
." -- Aristotle, Neomachean Ethics, p. 165 In Aristotle's writings, he disagrees with Plato's views on the world in many different instances. In this quote, he states that though Plato is his friend and might have taught him a lot, Aristotle believes his way of thinking is correct and he isn't afraid to refute Plato's ideas. ... In his book Neomachean Ethics, Aristotle's ideas conflict with those of Plato many times. ... First, Aristotle objects to Plato's suggestion to have common children in the state. ... Finally, in his book on Poetics, Aristotle c...
Plato vs. Aristotle The Teacher and the Pupil When Aristotle was seventeen years old, he was brought to the Academy, which was founded by Plato, to study among the great philosophical minds of his era. ... Just as Plato was studied under the wing of Socrates and later established his own philosophy, Aristotle followed suit. ... In terms of women, Aristotle was in total disagreement with Plato on their importance. ... From here I can now say that I don't agree with the philosophies of Aristotle, or as much as I do with Plato's. ...
Although this was said by Darth Vader to Obi Wan, it nonetheless provides the perfect setting for the philosophical debate that, in my opinion, would exist today Plato and Aristotle. Aristotle, a student of the Academy, did not believe in Plato's theoretical view of the world. ... He, unlike Plato, accepted that the world was constantly evolving and welcomed the transformations. ... But it will always be Plato to whom Aristotle is indelibly linked. Plato once called him, "the intelligence of the Academy". ...
I personally find it odd that Aristotle's views differ so much from Plato's views when he was a student of Plato. Plato's theories of the personality of the human deal a lot with the soul and the soul's parts and how they function, whereas Aristotle's thoughts are more centered on different kinds of souls. ... It think that Plato has a very good theory here and backs it up well, but find it not as interesting or believable after hearing Aristotle's view on the same subject. ... I believe that because Aristotle has such a distinctive science background that all ...
Plato's thoughts on reality were "heavily influenced by Heraclitus, Parmendes, and Socrates " (Silverman). Plato's metaphysical view, for example, has us divided into two worlds: the becoming and the reality. ... Plato illustrated his concept of reality with his divided line analogy. ... By contrast, Aristotle was a empiricist, meaning his ideas came from the senses and experience. ... Aristotle, who believed as a scientist that a focus on understanding the observable world was the priority, explained reality and entelechy by the four causes. ...
This distinction has been presented in many forms : real vs ideal; spirit vs flesh; earthly vs ethereal; temporal vs eternal; imperfect vs perfect. ... The reason why I am so condemnatory of modern philosophy is because it has generally accepted this dualism of Plato's uncritically, when his star student Aristotle did not. ... Both accepted Plato's dualism, but simply picked opposite sides of the same coin. ... If Aristotle had been given due attention, philosophy would be very different today. Aristotle rejected the idea that the mind and body are contradictory or mutu...
