Plato vs Aristotle

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Philosophy

Document 1

Plato’s main subscription on Knowledge was that we get to learn from someone who knowns a lot since knowledge is not accessible to all equally (prenatal knowledge). Aristotle held to the belief that we can learn all that we need by observing the world around us (induction). The two views become more distinct when applied to the world of science, ethics, philosophy and politics. (Schütrumpf, 2013) Plato’s Theory of Knowledge The Divided Line Plato’s Divided Line Plato divides the knowledge into four quadrants, each two forming two major classifications. These epistemic states are the visible realm and the other intellectual realm. They will have lengthy debates on this shadows in an effort to understand nature, only to a limited view.

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Once they discover the outside world, the explosive view becomes overwhelming as they get to see the true nature and colour of what they had as shadowy figures(phantoms). On getting back, the enlightened view the rest as deluded and there rises a sharp conflict. That’s how different levels knowledge make others look less useful. It becomes increasingly dangerous to reprove those in the cave with much light you’re having. In the book Categories, he suggests that all the said things in life can be divided into ten categories: substance (e. g. a table), quantity (the table has four legs), quality (the table is yellow), relation (the table is raised than the chair), place (the table is in the office), time (the table was made last month), position (the table is up-right), or habits (the table has four legs), action the table bears a heavy load) and affection (the table will be crashed by a huge load).

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The subject comprises of the predicate itself. And if this predicate exists in the body of the subject, it will be classified as quantity. (Prior, 2016). The Four causes. His theory of metaphysics has four states: material, formal, efficient and final causes. The material cause is the fundamental actual properties of a thing, the formal cause is the design part, the efficient cause is the actual force that makes something to exit and the final cause is the ultimate purpose of existence of something. Comparison and Contrast of Plato and Aristotle Theories On metaphysics, the two Greek philosophers had telling similarities. Whereas Plato advocates for different limitations of perception based on where you are and the exposure you have, Aristotle is a naturalist claiming that knowledge needs not varying natures.

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