Domingo, Jobert Brian F.

Western Philosophy
AB-PHILOSOPHY 1-1N Sir Gerald Cielo

ESSAY 2

Plato and Aristotle were such two great thinkers of this world, they were philosophers in
Ancient Greece and critically studied matters of ethics, science, politics and more. Plato
influenced Aristotle, just like Socrates influenced Plato. Plato’s works is like a classical education
that requiring reading, analyzing or substantiate ideas, also political theories and more. Aristotle
and his works became the basis for the both religion, science in the Middle-ages. In the Ancient
Greek Philosophy, Plato was known by his ideas, concepts or systems in metaphysics,
epistemology, and ethics. Actually, he provided a structure in metaphysical and epistemological
way to Socrates’ moral Philosophy. The Simile of the Sun where he laid his foundation to this
theory and introduces an analogy and likens the idea or concept of the Good with the Sun,
according to him, mere sight cannot attain knowledge of the Visible world, so as he observed that
there must be a medium that supports or holds our vision and we might able to see the naturalistic
view of this world which he is pertaining to light “Sun is the main source of light”. The theory of
the Divided Line for Plato true reality does not exist on the sensible realm, and reality is only
applicable to that of the intelligible world, this means that there should be a certain eternal ideas
or forms of physical objects because if not, then world would not exist because what grants the
world or what objectify the world is its ideas/concepts or forms, and also there was his thinking
that knowledge is not possible in the sensible realm, if we tend to sense of judge our beliefs to be
true, it does not produce knowledge—seeking the universals or forms will only possess
knowledge, if we lie down to our own perception or imagination we only live in our visible world
that possess our own opinion and it catches up to what we want to be, but if we keep rationalize
our ideas and we start to understand a certain point and turns out to reasoning, then we’re gaining
knowledge and we’ve becoming to know about ourselves more, rationalize more and we start to
live in our being, not just for the sake of ourselves but for the common good of people surrounds
us.

Aristotle logical system “Organon” is a tool or instrument that is well-structured system

where Aristotelian logic revolves around the notion of deduction or what do we call syllogism, and
there are compose of two premises and one conclusion and copula that holds down the whole
argument, A syllogism has a term, propositions that makes a statement either sound argument or
not, is it valid or not? if then, it will cause a knowledge and form of understanding between two
proponents. In Metaphysics it remains the same, the question of “being”. What is being? and as
for Aristotle “being” is a substance, a product or dynamic process and claims that every being has
its essence and existence, and in the essence we find matter (hyle) potency and form (morphe)
Actuality, it is said that what constitute the essence is the matter “the metaphysical principles of
bodies and through that we change and having a new form, just like the concept of statue before
it turns out into a statue, the matter itself at first is marble, then with his new form it turns into a
statue. The telos argument of Aristotle saying that every substance has its telos, a purpose of
function, just like the hierarchy of Substance where Man has the capacity of higher being than
Animals, plants, minerals, because we ought to reason, think, senses. Animals they have a form
has their own body and life and senses, so are plants, but senses is imaginary and down to the
last one is the mineral where it has only its body, but one thing that is similar to this hierarchy of
substance is that each of this substance has its own form. Ethics of Aristotle where it calls. On
eudaemonia and the Golden mean, where Eudaemonia is a state of having a genuine fulfillment
and its goal is not just to be happy but to fulfill, and also Eudaemonia can be achieve through
attainment of a good life. While Golden mean is like you weigh down your limits and your possible
actions that you will make. It’s like you are cultivating your virtue, and it is very essential to really
weigh down or to cultivate your virtue, it is so ethical that we should be rational not just to perform
that you need to do good but you are true or genuine about yourself that you wanted to live in this
world with peace and attaining good life.