Aristotle and Plato: philosophical comparison and influence

¶ … Aristotle and Plato the books are as under:

Aristotle's "The Politics"

And "Nicomachean Ethics"

Plato's "The Republic."

These are the names of the three books, which will be considered and viewed in the paper as a guide and reference to various questions related to Aristotle's and Plato viewpoint on the questions, which are as follows:

What mistake do oligarchs and democrats make in thinking about Justice, according to Aristotle?

To what extent would Plato agree with Aristotle's analysis?

What explains the similarities and/or differences in their approaches?

The paper will analyze and observe the viewpoints of the theorists and their relative opinions regarding these questions. In order to answer these questions the paper will introduce the background regarding these books and their relative themes. The paper will be presented in a compare/contrast format according to which the similarities and differences in the opinions of the theorists will be discussed and analyzed in the paper.

COMPARISON/CONTRAST OF PLATO'S "REPUBLIC" AND ARISTOTLE'S "POLITICS":

Aristotle's politics has defined the theories and concepts related to politics and society. Aristotle has presented his views and opinions on the methodologies and strategies, which can be used to maintain a stable society and to run the political affairs with justification. Aristotle has defined the value of observation and analysis to determine the truth and reality. He has further assisted on the point that a government, which overlooks the interest of its people, is not based on good values but the entire framework of such government runs on evil values. The second book of Aristotle, which is used in this paper, is "Nicomachean Ethics," in this book the author has described the importance of good deeds and virtues and he has defined this practice as a means of gaining true peace and happiness.

According to Aristotle the oligarchs think that those who are superior in wealth and power should possess the entire control and they should be treated as kings of the state and the right of making judgments should be given to these oligarchs while the democrats think that democrats are free to act according to their own wishes and therefore they should make judgments and should have equal political rights. According to the theories of Aristotle, both these groups are mistakenly wrong in their thinking. Both these ideas of political justice are vague. Both these conceptions are based on false assumption of the ultimate end of city-state. The city-state is not a business to maximize wealth for oligarch and it is neither a place to provide liberty to the democrats.

Plato's "Republic" describes the attitude of the theorists regarding society and government, the theories and ideas as presented in republic are all based on the theorists' own perception and analysis of the world. The analysis of Plato's view points states that Aristotle is partially true and fair in his opinion of presenting the views and theories on justice. Plato agrees with Aristotle on the point that living justly is far better than living unjustly. Plato states that justice breed's happiness and therefore, the decisions made by government and its authorities should be in the best interest of the people living in the state. However, Plato do not agree with the views of oligarchs and democrats because according to his views the opinions of classes are not worthy in making justified decisions. According Plato's views each class and groups of people have certain specific tasks to do and they should be involved in these tasks so as to generate happiness and stability in the country.