How different between thinking of Plato and Aristotle? Please explain to me. I would like to know. Thank you..

Question

How different between thinking of Plato and Aristotle? Please explain to me. I would like to know. Thank you..

Answer 1

Plato (428-348 BC)

There is a priori knowledge (Meno)

1.          Intellectual concepts of perfect objects needed for a priori knowledge cannot be gained from experience (main argument of the Phaedo for recollection)

2.          A priori knowledge = prenatal knowledge (theory of recollection in Phaedo)

3.          The objects of our intellectual concepts (i.e. the things we directly conceive by means of our intellectual concepts) are the perfect Forms.



Aristotle (384-322 BC, Plato’s student: amicus Plato sed magis amica veritas – ‘I like Plato but I like the truth even more’)

There is a priori knowledge.

4.          Intellectual concepts needed for a priori knowledge can be gained from experience, by abstraction (On the Soul).

5.          A priori knowledge is not prenatal, but can be gained by induction based on abstraction (Posterior Analytics).

6.          The objects of our intellectual concepts are the natures (essences, quiddities) of material things (On the Soul); these objects cannot be the perfect Forms of Plato, for such perfect Forms cannot exist (see the handout on “Plato’s Theory of Forms and its problems”, as well as the handout on Plato’s Parmenides; both available in the class folder.)

Answer 2

Plato thinks that there is a world of ideal forms that are imperfectly represented in the world. That is, there is an ideal machine called a computer of which the computers we see are approximations.

Aristotle believes that we derive our idea of computers from the computers we see and does not focus on the ideal. He stays grounded in the computers on the earth.

Plato's arguments do not depend upon the senses but on eternals not subject to change; Aristotle's arguments imply that there are no eternals independent of our experience.

Answer 3

Plato believes that the TRUE world, lies in the forms, which is the truth of everything. I.e - the true form of a turtle, the perfect representation etc. He believes that Philosophical knowledge is more reliable than Mathematical knowledge.

He also likes his similes. And he's a bit of a t*t.

Don't know about Aristotle!