Plato vs Aristotle: Philosophical Differences in Ethics and Politics

Empiricism and the Tabula Rasa

Empiricism posits that there is nothing in our knowledge that was not previously experienced through the senses. Before perception occurs, our understanding is akin to a blank sheet (tabula rasa).

Ethics and Politics: Plato vs. Aristotle

Virtue and Social Order

• Plato: Moderation characterizes the behavior of those with an appetitive soul (artisans and workers).
• Aristotle: All people are capable of goodness; therefore, everyone can strive for the golden mean—the balance between two extremes.

Moral Intellectualism

• Socratic Morality: This theory defends the idea that those who act badly do so out of ignorance, not evil intent.
• Plato's Application: He applies moral intellectualism to politics, arguing that only those with a rational soul (rulers and judges) should govern. Governance belongs to those who possess knowledge, as they cannot commit evil through ignorance.
• Aristotle's Critique: Aristotle rejects this intellectualism, maintaining that all human beings are capable of acting morally by seeking the middle ground. Those who fail to do so simply choose not to.

Social Structure

• Aristotle: The middle class acts as the stabilizing factor of society. An ideal system is a mix of oligarchy and democracy where the middle class abounds.
• Plato: His ideal society requires every citizen to fulfill a specific function: temperance for the artisans, wisdom for the philosophers, and fortitude for the warriors.

Metaphysical Comparisons

Worlds and Reality

• Plato: Proposes two worlds—the sensible and the intelligible—arguing that the intelligible world is more real and significant.
• Aristotle: Argues that only the sensible world exists, formed by unique, specific, and external objects.

Essence and Causality

• Plato: Ideas are transcendent essences, separate from the physical world.
• Aristotle: Formal causes are inherent to the objects themselves.

Cosmology and the Soul

• Demiurge vs. Unmoved Mover: Plato’s Demiurge, an agent who brings order to the cosmos, is conceptually similar to Aristotle’s Unmoved Mover.
• Celestial Divisions: Plato’s division between the celestial region (Ideas and souls) and the terrestrial domain is similar to Aristotle’s distinction between the supralunar (stars and planets) and sublunar (four elements) worlds.
• The Nature of the Soul: For Plato, the soul is immortal and determined at birth. For Aristotle, the soul is tied to the body, dies with it, and depends on the actualization of human potential through knowledge.

Rationalism vs. Empiricism

Following the Pythagorean thesis of the soul's immortality, Plato advocated for rationalism and innatism, suggesting that knowledge is the recollection of ideas already within the soul. Aristotle, by contrast, emphasizes empirical observation and the acquisition of knowledge through experience.