Week 1

PLATO AND ARISTOTLE

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This is the last week we look at the great classical Greeks and we move to the most important of all of them - almost certainly the most important philosophers of western civilisation. Their names are PLATO and ARISTOTLE. Until the Middle Ages, Christian philosophy in Europe was predicated on the work of Plato - it is impossible to understand western thought without understanding Plato. In the Middle Ages, starting especially with Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle came more to prominence, his writings seeping back into Europe via Arab translators. Later philosophers refer equally to both - but it is striking to note that until very recently, all philosophers felt it obligatory to refer to Plato and Aristotle in almost everything they tackled.

Plato was a disciple of SOCRATES, a great philosopher and teacher who nevertheless wrote nothing - everything we know of his thought comes through Plato. Plato's works typically consist of dialogues, where Socrates enters into debate with assorted interlocutors and always wins the discussion! I don't want to write a great essay on his philosophy, nor that of Aristotle, because such things are available everywhere (e.g., at the weblink above). But here are some key features, which I should like to draw your attention to:

Plato

Truth is one and unchanging
The objects of knowledge are IDEAS or FORMS
The highest Idea is the Idea of the GOOD, so...
...perfect knowledge corresponds to perfect goodness
No one knowingly does something BAD.
The philosopher should rule the state
The individual is less important than society
Eugenics (genetic manipulation of society) is good
Democracy is generally a bad thing

Aristotle

The world we know is composed of FORM and MATTER
Neither is anything without the other
Virtue consists in fulfilling your potential
Your potential is defined by what is particularly YOU
A cheetah's particularity is its SPEED, so good cheetahs run fast
Humans are particularly defined by their REASON, so a good human is a thinking human
Christians reinterpreted Aristotle to mean that all things worship God by being fully what he created them to be
A good (just) SOCIETY is one where different parts have different roles (to govern, to execute laws, to serve &c.) and fulfil them in a balanced way
Virtue is a MEAN, between two extremes
The GOLDEN MEAN (c.f. the Buddha's MIDDLE WAY)

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