...Compare and Contrast Plato and Aristotle on governance Plato and Aristotle were both philosophers from Greece who criticized democracy as a poor form of government. Plato is regarded as the first writer of political philosophy, and Aristotle is recognized as the first political scientist. These two men were great political thinkers. There are a lot of differences between the two even though Aristotle was a great student of Plato. 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. Plato’s thoughts on democracy were that it causes the corruption of people through public opinion and creates rulers who do not actually knowhow to rule but only know how to influence the “beast” which is the Demos, the public. Aristotle’s views about democracy hold that democratic office will cause corruption in the people, if the people choose to redistribute the wealth of the rich they will end up destroying the state and since the people have no knowledge about governance when they elect rulers they will err. The “Republic” of Plato created a country with strict hierarchy. It has a rigorous legal system and a sound education system. All public good, servicers and desires are controlled by the country. It has its own advantages such as the idealized organized national order, and discussion of country’s justice and individual’s justice;, but it also has its shortcomings...
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...In book II chapter 4 of De Anima, Aristotle describes what constitutes as nourishment and generation. He then moves onto book II chapter 5 to discuss the concept of sensation and perception. More specifically, he claims that perception is a kind of alteration because it has the capability to be moved and affected. Aristotle then poses a puzzle to why the perception of the senses (perpetual capacities) doesn’t occur and why the perceptual capacities cannot produce perception without the aid of an external object which is composed of fire, earth, and other elements. Aristotle states that perception is potentially active and uses the example of a fire to support his claim. Like a fire, it cannot burn by itself and needs something to spark and...
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...from places such as Greece and Athens. One of these great individuals was Aristotle. He had the benefit of being taught by Plato. Aristotle was able to gain knowledge directly from Plato as well as from what Plato had learned from his teacher, Socrates. The time of Aristotle’s birth allowed him the unique opportunity to stand on the shoulders of two philosophical giants, Plato and Socrates. In his work, Politics, he examined the advantages and disadvantages of different types of political regimes. Aristotle looked at monarchies, aristocracies, polities, tyrannies, oligarchies, and democracies. In his examination, he proposed an explanation of what his best regime would be. While Aristotle admitted that none of the regimes could match his best regime, it can be argued that the polity is the best regime out of the ones that Aristotle studied. The polity provides the greatest regime because it is an indistinguishable mix of democratic and oligarchic elements that works towards the benefit of both the masses and the wealthy, which promotes the middling effect of Aristotle’s best regime. Aristotle’s best regime is one that mimics what he describes as the best way of life. He defines the ideal way of life as living virtuously. He likens this virtue to a mean that is attainable by every type of person. This lifestyle can also be adapted to the regime of a city (Book 4, Chapter 11, Segment 3, pp.114). Aristotle proposes that finding the virtuous mean in a political community is the way...
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...Liberal Temper in Greek Politics.' More recently and on a smaller scale, Fred Miller has, in the pages of this journal, interpreted one aspect of the classical tradition from the standpoint of "~ibertarianY' political theory, in his essay "The State and the Community in Aristotle's Polieics. "' This curious attempt to defend the "libertarianism9' of Lykophron and Mippodamus3 against Aristotle's '6ppaternalism9'is a daring, if ill-conceived, enterprise. In Miller's presentation, Aristotle seems t o emerge as a villain who misunderstand the enlightened political thought of the Greek "libertarians" and, we are to infer, derails subsequent political thought in the name of "'paternalism." Fundamental to Miller's reading of the Politics is the idea t h a t there is a distinction between ""cmmunity" and "'state" that Aristotle confuses in his use of golis. He argues that in Book 1 Aristotle is using polis in the former sense, at the beginning of Book 3 in t h e latter, but that later in Book 3 he confuses the two. The pskis of Book 1, according to Miller, '%is understood as the community itselt a complex system of human relationships, voluntary as well as coercive, personal as well as public9' (p, 63). But, he maintains, in Book 3 Aristotle shifts his...
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...Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, together with Socrates and Plato, laid much of the groundwork for western philosophy. IN THESE GROUPS * FAMOUS PHILOSOPHERS * FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO MADE DISCOVERIES * FAMOUS GREEKS * FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO DIED IN GREECE Show All Groups 1 of 3 « » QUOTES “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” —Aristotle Synopsis Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was born circa 384 B.C. in Stagira, Greece. When he turned 17, he enrolled in Plato’s Academy. In 338, he began tutoring Alexander the Great. In 335, Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, in Athens, where he spent most of the rest of his life studying, teaching and writing. Aristotle died in 322 B.C., after he left Athens and fled to Chalcis. Aristotle - Mini Biography (TV-14; 03:02) Learn more about the life of Greek philosopher Aristotle, whose work profoundly influenced the modern scientific method, in this mini biography. Early Life Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was born circa 384 B.C. in Stagira, a small town on the northern coast of Greece that was once a seaport. Aristotle’s father, Nicomachus, was court physician to the Macedonian king Amyntas II. Although Nicomachus died when Aristotle was just a young boy, Aristotle remained closely affiliated with and influenced by the Macedonian court for the rest of his life. Little is known about his mother, Phaestis; she is also believed to have died when Aristotle was young. After Aristotle’s father died...
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...Aristotle Essay Adnan Ahmad Compare and contrast Aristotle‘s concept of mind with that of Descartes. Introduction In this essay I attempt to show Aristotle’s concept of soul/mind*[1]. Then I compare and contrast it with Descartes’ concept of mind. In order to understand Aristotle’s concepts of mind, I shall consider Aristotle’s De Anima, in which Aristotle mostly concentrates on soul/mind discussion. I will examine the work of Kahn and Sorabji, who both considered Aristotle’s and Descartes’ philosophy in relation to soul and body problem. In order to compare Aristotle’s concept of mind with Descartes’, I am going to introduce Descartes’ most famous philosophical work which involves the question of mind directly, namely hisMeditations. …………………………. …………………………… ………………………………. If we look at Aristotle’s De Anima we can understand that pre-Aristotle thinkers were already concerned with corporeal and incorporeal problems. For example, for Plato soul was an ‘incorporeal’ and immortal thing, but body corporeal and mortal. The first impression we get from reading De Anima is that the mind and body problem was unsolved. Perhaps the resolved problem didn’t satisfy Aristotle. Aristotle claims that an incorporeal thing cannot exist without a corporeal thing. Aristotle’s new theory for solving soul and body problems makes controversial debate among most post-Aristotelian philosophers. Rene Descartes was one of them who rejected the Aristotelian...
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...Plato and Aristotle, two leading figures of ancient Greek civilization, were earliest philosophers who thought about justice and developed theories about the sublime aspects of being just. This assignment is an attempt to prove that pursuing a life of justice would make living more worthwhile than being unjust or a combination of just and unjust life. In order to reach this point, I am going to explain the concept of justice and its superior aspects from the perspective of both Plato and Aristotle by taking help from their famous works “The Republic” and “The Nicomachean Ethics”. I will also give place to counter arguments and their rebuttals. I will make my own comments at the final part of the assignment. Plato (427 BC-347 BC) was one of the earlier and most important philosophers of the world and is also known as the founder of “The Academy”. Plato’s most famous work is “The Republic” in which he tries to draw the qualities of a just individual and a just state by explaining the sublime nature of justice. In the first two books of The Republic, dialogues between different characters focus on different meanings of justice. During the conversation two conventional definitions of justice (“giving a man’s due” and “doing good to your friends, harm to your enemies”) are refuted brilliantly by Socrates and finally take the form of “doing good to your friends if they are good and doing harm to your enemies if they are bad” (Plato, p. 13). In the following parts of Book one, Thrasymachus...
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...Thesis Statement: “ [N]o supremely happy man can ever become miserable…” (I.10, 1100b.30) This above statement is from the chapter in which Aristotle discusses “Can a man be called ‘happy’ during his lifetime?”. From the micro perspective, the whole chapter is about whether happiness should be defined as permanent or momentary. Starting with Solon’s words and opposed examples illustrated by Aristotle, Aristotle leads us to deeply develop the definition and understanding of happiness. In his opinion, “happiness has permanence and is not amenable to changes under any circumstances”. Another element, for instance, fortune has the power to influence one’s happiness and revolve many times in one’s lifetime; however, Aristotle shows fortune is not determinant for happiness and merely an accessory of human life. Furthermore, “the happy man will have the attribute of permanence, and he will remain happy throughout his life” because the happy man will choose to do activities in conformity with virtue. Aristotle concludes that “the activities determine a man’s life, no supremely happy man can ever become miserable, for he will never do what is hateful and base”. Based on the true meaning of happiness, Aristotle advocates that it is the activities that matter rather than the outcomes. Further analyzing the statement of “No supremely happy man can ever become miserable” from the macro perspective should be focused on three key words in the statement. First of all is the “happy”, which...
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...beings are those which correspond to the activity of a perfect and blessed man. Section 6: Let us review what has already been said about happiness. Happiness is an activity of some sort which is chosen for its own sake and is self-sufficient. Actions according to virtue are chosen for their own sake. Happiness is not found in amusement, for it would be absurd to argue that the goal of a person's life and work is amusement. Rather, amusement is chosen for the purpose of relaxation, which is necessary to enable a person to engage in serious work. Everything is thought to be chosen for the sake of something else except for happiness. A happy life is a life according to virtue. Section 7: Since it has already been established [in Book One] that happiness is an activity according to virtue, it is reasonable to posit that it is an activity according to the highest virtue, which would be an activity corresponding to the best part of man. The activity of the intellect is the best human activity, since it corresponds to the highest part of man, is concerned with the best objects, is the most continuous activity, is self-sufficient, and is loved for its own sake. Everything attributed to a blessed man seems to exist in the activity of the intellect, which is contemplation. A life of contemplation, then, would be the perfect happiness for man. Such a life is above man, for it is...
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...the topic of researches and thoughts for different famous people of ancient and modern time. Two of the greatest philosophers Aristotle and Plato devoted great part of their philosophic researches to the topic of conception of the state and political freedom. Let us compare and contrast their conceptions. A man named Aristotle who was a Greek Truth-seeker, a logician, and a scientist has a teacher named Plato. Aristotle is widely known as the most prominent olden philosopher in many areas of philosophy, together with political hypothesis. His life appears to have inclined his political notion in different conduct: his biological interest has mixed in his political life. Also, his political interest and his compassion for the democratic system like dominion perhaps have been optimistic by his experience of various political systems; he condemned severely, while borrowing widely, from his teacher’s (Plato) democracy, statesman, and laws; moreover, his own political affairs is proposed to help rulers and statesmen, showing the main political systems that he moved. Plato wrote a Socratic discussion called “The Republic” about the meaning of justice and the category and behavior of the present city and the present man. His best and most popular work, proved one of the academically and historically prominent works of philosophy and political hypothesis. In his work, many Athenians and...
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...I have also examined two different case studies involving the application of Aristotle’s appeals to ethos (creditability), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion) in two different career fields. I evaluated these two studies as well as Aristotle’s Rhetoric as a whole in order to provide a better understanding of the theory. The reader is provided with a more artistic approach to Aristotle’s Rhetoric, in which the reader should be able to decide his/her own personal approaches towards persuasion, using Aristotle’s Rhetoric as the reader’s...
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...Utopia appears, at first to be an excellent idea. However, his perfect society is less than the ideal, even from the contemporary perspective. Aristotle, through "The Politic” attempted to understand the nature of man in a "realistic" view. What Plato called ideal, Aristotle called unfeasible. He tries to make rationale judgment in the management of his ideal of a society, through understanding human behavior and logic, making it what he would deem a more realistic society. As humans we tend to care more about our individual needs prior to the needs of others. The values that we express reflect our own self-interest, where the good of the individual was the main concern and was not the same as that of the State. Plato saw this to be determinate to society based on the awareness that Guardians, such as civil leaders and assistants would care more about their individual desires, and their needs; disregarding anything else to fulfill their pleasures. "On this basis they will then be free from faction, to the extent tat any rate that human beings divide into factions over the possession of money, children, and relatives" (Stephanos 464e). Plato recognized this to create factions among individuals, where these divisions' main concerns were to themselves, their family, and to others that were close to them. Families create that invisible line that disassociates people, which was one of Plato's main fears for the development of his utopian society. What he urged was for separation of the...
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...Dr. Katherine Heenan English 472 Spring 2007 February 20, 2007 Aristotle’s Life and the Rhetoric Books I and II Aristotle (384-322 BCE) • Aristotle was a student of Plato’s who disagreed with his mentor over the place of public speaking in Athenian life • born in Macedonia about the time Plato was opening the Academy in Athens • age seven went to Athens and entered the Academy--stayed on as teacher; left 20 yrs later on Plato’s death in 347 • Was ineligible to inherit Academy because he wasn’t Athenian • believed only scientific demonstration and the analysis of formal logic could arrive at transcendent truth • Dialectic and rhetoric form 2 major divisions in his view of human inquiry but they deal with subjects on which true knowledge isn’t available • Rhetoric: making persuasion possible • for Aristotle, rhetoric as the discovery in each case of the available means of persuasion--this discovery requires scientific investigation o in terms of speech situations, he focused on civic affairs • forensic speaking considers guilt or innocence—judicial speech centering on accusation and defense • deliberative speaking considers future policy—political speech centering on future policy • epideictic speaking considers praise and blame—ceremonial speech ▪ Aristotle classified rhetoric as the counterpart of dialectic o dialectic is on-on-one conversation; rhetoric is one...
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...ARISTOTLE Aristotle was born in Stagira, a “Grecian colony. His father was a court physician to the King Amyntas of Macedonia. It is believed that his purse of studies is due to his father’s influence of practicing medicine. He died at his country house at Chalcis, in Euboea at the age of sixty-two years old in the year of 322 B.C. He died to an illness he suffered from for a long period of time. There were legends that told his death to be because of hemlock poisoning, as well as another legend, it was said he couldn’t explain the tides so he threw himself into the sea. Aristotle was a high-minded, kind hearted man devoted to his family and his friends. He was a man who followed the ideals he outlined in his ethical treaties (“Aristotle”). During the time frame of thirteen years when Aristotle taught at his school, called Lyceum, he composed his writings into dialogues (“Aristotle”). His school was widely known as the walking school or the Peripatetic school because a lot of the discussion at the school took place while walking the grounds (“Encarta: Aristotle”). He taught the young conqueror Alexander, who became Alexander the Great, and thereafter his writings were lost and not recovered until the 1st century B.C. During the middle ages they were translated into Latin and Arabic and became a basis for Christian theology. In 2000 years no one has came close to his brilliance...
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...Galileo Aristotle Prometheus Dogmas: Different religious texts, Qur’an. 1. The internet: example (google, Wikipedia) 2. The constitution 3. Political texts 4. Can be ideas 5. Science Critical Questions for Galileo. Vocabulary Peripatetic is another word for Aristotelian. Ipse dixit = Latin for “having said so” Primum mobile = first, or prime, mover Note that this is an excerpted text: some of the arguments that seem missing are covered, thoroughly, in the full book. • 1632, written by Galileo in Italian (usually written in Latin), wants to make point to common people • 17th century, unbounded nature of knowledge • 1. Who speaks for whom in the dialogue? a. Salviati-Galileo b. Sagredo “sacred” (comes from word for blood)- on Galileo’s side c. Simplicio “Simplistic, simple minded”- Aristotle, believes in Aristotle more so than actually him 2. How does Simplicio invoke the argument by authority (source)? a. Anything Aristotle says is true, simply because he said so 3. What is the point of the argument about the nerves on page 63? What kind of argument is it? a. Nerves originate in head, because of anatomy b. Aristotle believes they originate in the heart c. Actually cut someone open in Amphitheater d. Still, someone says they don’t believe it because Aristotle believes otherwise e. ARGUMENT BY ANALOGY (could be SOURCE as well)- relevantly similar to the actual model of the universe 4. What is the point of the arguments...
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