Plato and Aristotle: Essential Philosophical Insights
Plato’s Concept of the Idea of Good
Author: The author of the text is Plato, who, along with Aristotle, is one of the most important philosophers of ancient philosophy and a highlight in the history of philosophy. He lived in the 5th-4th centuries BC and spent most of his life in Athens. A disciple of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, he initially intended to engage in politics but abandoned this pursuit after the death of Socrates. Plato developed important theses on the intelligible world, the sensible world, the soul, knowledge, teaching methods, virtue, ethics, and politics.
Theme: The theme of the text is the idea of good.
Key Ideas:
- We have to compare what is manifested through the eye with the home-prison.
- We have to compare the fire that is in the house-prison with the power of the sun.
- We have to compare the rise and contemplation of things above with the path of the soul to the intelligible world.
- God knows if this is really true.
- What is knowable in the end, with difficulty, is the idea of good.
- The idea of good is the cause of all things straight and beautiful.
- The idea of good has created light and the sun in the visible realm.
- The idea of good gave birth to truth and intelligence in the intelligible realm.
- We must have the idea well enough to act with wisdom (both in private and in public).
Summary of Ideas:
The idea of good, which is at the end of the knowable, is the cause of all things straight and beautiful. Therefore, it has created light and the sun (in the visible area) and truth and intelligence (in the intelligible field). This implies a need to grasp the idea of good sufficiently to act with wisdom, both in private and in public. We have to compare what is shown through sight with the prison-house, the fire therein with the power of the sun, and the rise and contemplation of things as the path of the soul to the intelligible world. At the end of this path, we find the idea of good, although only God knows if this is true or not.
Explanation of Ideas:
(The text is part of the Myth of the Cave, in which the cave represents the sensible world, prisoners represent indirect knowledge, release represents direct knowledge, the climb out of the cave represents the ascent to the intelligible world and knowledge, and the sun represents the idea of good. Considering these relationships, then…)
When Plato says we have to compare, he is showing us how to think and reveal the meaning he attributes to the prison (the sensible world), the sun (the idea of good), and the rise out of the cave (ascent to the intelligible world). After developing the idea of good, he says that it is the cause of all that is beautiful and has created light, the sun, truth, and intelligence. That is, we are being told that everything is involved in the idea of goodness, as this is the foundation, the essence of the world of ideas. We need to know the idea of good to act with wisdom. In his theory, Plato also says that only the philosopher knows the idea of good, and therefore, only he is wise and capable of ruling. Finally, it is noteworthy that Plato believes God is someone who knows everything, hence the statement: “God knows if this is true.”
Aristotle on the Social Nature of Man
Author: The author of the text is Aristotle who, with Plato, is one of the most important philosophers of ancient philosophy and a highlight in the history of philosophy. He lived in the 4th century BC and spent most of his life in Athens and Macedonia. Throughout his life, he engaged in various sciences such as biology, logic, anatomy, and astronomy. However, his most important advances were made in philosophy, developing theses about knowledge, teaching methods, nature, movement/change, psychology, ethics, politics, and metaphysics.
Topic: The topic of the text is the social nature of man.
Key Ideas:
- Man is by nature a civic animal. (Nature makes man a social being.)
- Nature does nothing in vain.
- Only man has the word among animals.
- Voice is an indication of pleasure and pain.
- Animals have a voice.
- The word says what is advisable/harmful and fair/unfair.
- Only man has the sense of good/bad, right/wrong,…
- The family and the city are based on those findings and have the word.
Summary of Ideas:
Man is by nature a social animal, a civic being. Unlike animals, which only have a voice (which allows them to show their feelings), man has the word (which distinguishes between good/bad, right/wrong). As nature does nothing in vain, having the word and the ability to differentiate between these observations are the foundation of man as a social being, leading to the formation of families and cities.
Explanation of Ideas:
The statements that man is a civic and social being mean that humans, by nature, tend to live in communities, helping one another. The ideas relating to the voice of animals and the word of men show the main difference: humans have rational capacity. Man, as a civic animal, is not confined to living in society but clusters in organized families and cities. Finally, the idea that nature does nothing in vain shows that Aristotle is a finalist philosopher (nature acts for a purpose, which is for humans to live in society and create families and cities).