Plato and Aristotle - Approach to Truth
Plato and Aristotle arrive at what they deem to be "truth" through sometimes similar and often times different paths. While both philosophers seek comprehensive explanations of reality and both made huge contributions to Western philosophical thinking, each did so seeking an ultimate method to define their experience.
Plato, the teacher, Aristotle the student; it is natural that one would build upon the ideas of the other. "According to Plato, sense objects are not completely real. Beliefs derived from experience of such objects are therefore vague and unreliable" (Dartmouth, 23). In his theory of Ideas, he expressed reality as being divided into two realms: There was the realm of ideas and the realm of things that one knows through the senses. Therefore, the idea of a rock, for Plato, is more the rock than the rock itself. The reason for this is that all objects undergo change. Therefore, a rock is not the thing described, but the idea - since the idea of a rock does not change with time.
Aristotle disagreed with Plato in his separation of the idea and the thing. Aristotle theorized that the idea of a thing was contained within the thing itself. For Aristotle, a rock is perceived as a rock because its reality is inside it and that is what the observer perceives. Everything either is or is becoming. Aristotle did agree with Plato with reference to pure intellect. It in itself is in pure form.
Each school of philosophy contributed to Western culture. For Aristotle, a specific contribution is his teleology. These are his theories that explain why things are and how they have come to be that way. For Plato, his Idea of the Good has been a basis of many religious doctrines. His theory of Forms explains what things are and how they come to be known in a different way than Aristotle. This short essay cannot do justice to either man's contributions, or his effect on civilization. In the case of Plato and Aristotle, one can only wonder at the complexity of their discussions.
References
Plato and Aristotle. (2004 August) Dartmouth Lectures. Retrieved August 15, 2004 at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~phys1/lectures/lecture2.pdf.
