COMPARATIVE STUDY OF

PLATO AND ARISTOTLE

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:
SHRESHTHA PAWAIYA DR. SAROJ
BALLB CHOUDHARY
SEM 1 MA’AM
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC
PLATO and ARISTOTLE were ancient philosphers in Greece who
critically examined and studied matters of ethics ,science ,politics
,culture and more .
Both of them worked in their respective fields are considered of great
historical value as well as in modern times .
In the upcoming slides we will be able to understand the different
ideologies ,dimensions and influences of both the philosophers
individually and all together and also summarize the comparison and
contrast of their work with the criticism they received .
 PUPIL

SOCRATES PLATO ARISTOTLE

 ABOUT PLATO
• Plato was born in 428 BC
• He died in 348 BC (age approx. 80 )
• Plato name is derieved from Platon.
• He was an Athenian philosopher during the classical period in ancient Greece .
• He is widely considered the pivotal figure in the history of Ancient
Greek and Western philosophy, along with his teacher, Socrates, and his most famous
student, Aristotle. Plato has also often been cited as one of the founders of Western
religion and spirituality .
• He was deeply affected by the Socrates “virtue is knowledge “ philosophy .
• His famous quote : be kind ,for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle .
• Plato was the innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy. Plato is also
considered the founder of Western political philosophy.
 PLATO AND SOCRATES
• Plato was deeply influenced by Socrates .Sabine , has remarked that the outstanding intellectual
development of Plato was his association as a young man with Socrates and from he derieved what was
always the controlling thoughts of political philosophy that VIRTUE IS KNOWLEDGE .
• According to him knowledge which has no impact upon conduct is meaningless. Similarily much of the
principal and theories of morality were derived by Socrates and later learned and followed by Plato

• MAIN PRINCIPALS ADOPTED BY PLATO FROM SOCRATES

• Theory of reality
• Theory of knowledge
• Philosophical method
• Art of government
• Socrates
 PLATO BACK IN ATHENS ….
• • When Plato returned to Athens in 387 B.C., he started a
school of learning called the Academy, which was
eventually described as the 1st European University
• • At the Academy, he taught his subjects astronomy, biology,
mathematic s, political theory, and philosophy
 PLATO’S WORK
Plato’s thought on politics Rule Equality
Rule of reason of for .
women
reason
Theory of JUSTICE
Division of labour Theory Division
of of
Equality for women justice labour

Communism of property
Communis
m of Rule of
Rule of law property law
.

Value of education
 PLATO’S ADVANCEMENT ON EARLY THEORIES OF JUSTICE

• Before finally presenting his own idea of justice he evaluated the four theories prevalent at his time .
Traditionalism ; to give each man what he deserves is justice . He criticized it by saying it is difficult to
distinguish between a friend and foe and evil towards enemies is not the true idea of justice .
Radicalism; justice is the interest of the stronger .state is the strongest of all.plato criticized it by
saying that according to it people need to be a king pleaser or if he satisfies himself it will be injust
.justice should be followed by everyone regardless of position
Pragmatism;according to this theory justice is the child of fear giving birth to social ethics lying
between extremeties of doing injustice and tolerating injustice .plato criticized it by saying that law is
based upon rights giving genral instructions od do’s and donts’ .
Rationalism; socrated defined justice as an art to remove the defects of things .but utilization of art
should be devoid of selfishness which further Plato advanced in his ‘the Republic’ .
 PLATO’S DEFINITION ON JUSTICE
• PLATO’S elaboration of the prima facie definition of justice is ‘’giving to every man his due ‘’.
• According to him justice is the quality of soul .it does not depend on
the external power .
• Human soul is guided by the 3 tendencies ;knowledge ,physical tende-
ncies ,spiritual tendencies .
• On the same basis spirit should rule,rest should be ruled.
• Justice is a ethical concept and not jural one.
Tendencies
• Justice is a universal principal
• According to plato philosopher king is the wisest among human beings .there
Fore justice is possible in the state where the philosopher king
knowledge Physical spiritual
rules.
 PLATO’S IDEAL STATE

Four fundamentals of Plato ideal state

 classification of citizens in three classes
Establishment of justice
State controlled system of education
Communist social system
 VIRTUE IS KNOWLEDGE
• Virtue can be taught, and there

are four cardinal virtues:

wisdom,
courage or fortitude,
Freedom-rulers

temperance,
and justice courage -guardians

Justice -artisans
 PLATO’S WORKS
• He had 36 dialogues (books) and 13 letters- “The Republic” –
talks about Utopian society
• Give readers a sense of philosophy as a living and unfinished
subject, to which they will need to contribute to finish
• Modern scholars doubt the authenticity
• After writing, his works were “lost” until the Renaissance
• They have been steadily studied since • Big influence in math
and science – Difference between arithmetic and logistic
 MAJOR CONTRIBUTION OF PLATO
• • Plato's major contribution was to the field of
psychology on the subject matter of metaphysics. His
thoughts on the idea of the soul and its tripartite
division: intuition,, which he equated with the brain,
and the active emotions 'spiritness' that reside in the
chest, served as a basis for future psychologists and
there studies
•
ARISTOTLE
Aristotle was born in 384 BC
• His father was physician to the king of Macedonia.
• When he was 7, he went to study at Plato’s Academy.
• Began as a student, became a researcher and finally a teacher.
• Was considered one of Plato’s best students.
• Plato died and willed the Academy to his nephew.
• Aristotle left and founded the Lyceum.
 CONT’D
He was a student of Plato who in turn studied under Socrates. He was more
empiricallyminded than Plato or Socrates and is famous for rejecting Plato’s
theory of forms.
Aristotle was the first to classify areas of human knowledge into distinct
disciplines such as mathematics, biology, and ethics. Some of these classifications
are still used today. As the father of the field of logic, he was the first to develop a
formalized system for reasoning.
Aristotle observed that the validity of any argument can be determined by its
structure rather than its content. A classic example of a valid argument is his
syllogism: All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal.
 ARISTOTLE AS EMPIRICIST
• Empiricism is a theory of knowledge which states that knowledge comes only or
primarily from sensory experience.
• Aristotle is an empiricist because he thinks that all knowledge comes to human
beings from and through sensation. Our minds start out as blank slates and from
sensation we get our ideas or the so-called "contents" of our minds Empiricism is a
theory of knowledge which states that knowledge comes only or primarily from
sensory experience.
• Aristotle is an empiricist because he thinks that all knowledge comes to human
beings from and through sensation. Our minds start out as blank slates and from
sensation we get our ideas or the so-called "contents" of our minds
 ARISTOTLE AND REALISM
 Aristotle was a realist. Plato was an idealist.
 Central thread of idealism is the principle or thesis of independence.
 Reality, knowledge and value exist independently of the mind. Realism rejects the
Idealist notion that only ideas are real.
 Believed form is within matter and change takes place in matter.
 Believed a relationship exists between science and philosophy, and that the study of one
leads to the study of the other.
Metaphysics (questions related to existence)
 Epistemology (questions related to knowledge)
 Logic (theory of correct reasoning)
 Values (Ethics)
 ARISTOTLE’S VIEWS
Balance is the central concept to Aristotle’s views.
 Saw universe as being in a balanced and orderly fashion.
 Education was the means used to create a state of good citizens

MAN IS A RATIONAL ANIMAL

Aristotle believed “man is a rational animal.”
 While animals express pleasure or pain with their cries, man and only man is able to speak.
Ability to speak allows man to be able to determine the difference between what is right and what
is wrong, what is beneficial and what is harmful.
So, how are these skills and knowledge acquired?
Through education.
 EDUCATION AND LEARNING

 Aristotle
believed education and learning are always about an object
and should have content.
 He believed a teacher instructs a learner about an object, about
some knowledge, or some discipline.
Teaching and learning are always about disciplined inquiry into
some aspect of reality.
 A school should cultivate and develop each person’s rationality.
 MEN WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO CLASSES
• A Governing Class, and
• A Governed Class
• Governing Class required education so that it could govern
the Governed Class.
• Governed Class required just enough education as would
enable it to obey.
• Only by completing these duties would each class find its
usefulness and satisfaction, or balance
 ARISTOTLE ON ETHICS
• Ethics, as viewed by Aristotle, is an attempt to find out our chief end or highest
good: an end which he maintains is really final. Though many ends of life are
only means to further ends, our aspirations and desires must have some final
object or pursuit. Such a chief end is universally called happiness. But people
mean such different things by the expression that he finds it necessary to
discuss the nature of it for himself.
 SIMILARITIES IN VIEWS OF PLATO AND ARISTOTLE
• The differences between Plato and Aristotle’s theories outweigh the similarities. However Plato is
often criticised for being too elitist in his views, as he requires a great amount of time devoted to
asceticism in order to learn. He also sees the mass public as ignorant and incapable, or at least
unwilling to accept the truth of a reality beyond our own.
•
Aristotle, though, is much more grounded and includes everybody when it comes to their ability to
learn. He also criticises Plato for suggesting that forms exist outside of time and space, as they are
non-physical entities. However, Aristotle’s belief that everything has a purpose also leaves doubts,.
possibility of chance happenings, and both the philosopher believes there is an ultimate truth and
explanation to everything.
• Both have ultimately left large gaps in their theories, which leave them open to criticism. However,
their theories led to two of the greatest philosophical views, transcendentalism and naturalism,
which has enabled future philosophers to build upon their original views and revise them to
accommodate new information and discoveries.
•
 DIFFERENCE IN VIEWS
• The main focus of Plato is a perfect society. He creates a blueprint for a utopian society, in his
book The Republic, out of his disdain for the tension of political life.Plato sought to cure the
afflictions of both human society and human personality. Essentially what Plato wants to
achieve is a perfect society.
•
Aristotle, unlike Plato, is not concerned with perfecting society. He just wants to improve on the
existing one. Rather than produce a blueprint for the perfect society, Aristotle suggested, in his
work, The Politics, that the society itself should reach for the best possible system that could be
attained .Aristotle looks to the ideals which are expressed in the laws,customs,and public
opinion of the people of the actual states;these are the materials which politics must respect
,work with,and seek to improve.In short,all that has to be done is to try to improve on the
existing one.
•
 ARISTOTLE: FATHER OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Plato is called 'Father of Political Philosophy 'whereas Aristotle is called 'Father of Political Science'.
• ∆ Plato’s 1. Ideas of Justice, education,philosopher king and communism of wives & property in an Ideal
State was utopian.
• 2.His method was deductive.
• 3. his work lacked practicality.
• ∆ Aristotle
• 1.Studied 158 constitutions & after that he made his conclusions.Thus his work is practical.One cannot deny
it because it was the as it is state of states of that time.
• 2.His method used was inductive .It was empirical in character.
• 3. His philosophy are even relevant today .
• For example- He classified constitutions & analysed
democracy,polity,monarchy,tyranny,oligarchy,aristocracy at that time.
• 4.He also studied his teacher Plato's philosophy and rectified it where needed.
• Thus Aristotle is father of political science.His contributions gave a new dimension & made political science
a separate discipline.His study of states of that time is extensive .He did not went too much into philosophy
rather presented things practically & in an attainable way.
 CONCLUSION
• Plato believed that concepts had a universal form, an ideal
form, which leads to his idealistic
philosophy. Aristotle believed that universal forms were
not necessarily attached to each object or concept, and that
each instance of an object or a concept had to be analyzed
on its own.
 SUMMARY
The comparative study of Plato and Aristotle
gives us the opportunity to look deeply into the
lives of both the philosophers ,the relationship
they maintained ,the infulences they made , the
contrast and similarities between the thoughts
and their views, different theories given by
them and to finally conclude that Aristotle is
called the father of political science wheras
plato is called the father of political philosophy
because of the respective work they did in the
particular fields …..
ARISTOTLE AND PLATO
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
• The collection of content for the power point presentation on the topic
COMPARITIVE STUDY OF PLATO AND ARISTOTLE was taken from the
following sources ;
• Western political thoughts –O.P Gauba
• Political theory – O.P Gauba
• Class 12th pol.science ncert
• political science –SR Myneni