Aristotle's dense philosophical system can be summarized as follows:
Ontology - Teleological Realism (a.k.a. "Materialism") Epistemology - Empiricism with Logical Classification (via the "Four Causes") Ethics - Virtue as Active Excellence (Eudaimonia, "Flourishing") Explain ONE of these three concepts in your own words, comparing or contrasting with another philosopher (Plato is the obvious choice, but Buddha and Heraclitus would be interesting too). Remember, if you need help, see the NOTES AND LINKS page (under the Philosophy tab above): there are videos on Aristotle, notes on the earlier philosophers, and a PowerPoint on Socrates/Plato plus one on "Ancient Ethics" that might be really useful for jogging your memory!
25 Comments
Jessica Auriemma
9/24/2015 07:15:18 pm
Though a student of Plato, Aristotle’s ontology is the polar opposite of his teacher’s. While Plato was a dualist who believed in two separate worlds (a world of Being which is a world of ideals and the world of Becoming which is the “real” world) Aristotle was a monist who stated there was only one world. Plato’s ontology states that ideas are more real than actual objects and ideas exist in a reality of their own. He also said that ideas are what shape the world of Becoming. Contrastly, Aristotle sees ideas as something that exist only in the mind. People can only create ideas through what is seen in the world. Therefore, for Aristotle seeing is truly believe whereas for Plato, what can be seen is merely imperfect copies of the ideals of the higher world.
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Abby Westgate
9/26/2015 01:50:44 pm
The ethics of Aristotle’s philosophy can be described as “virtue as active excellence.” Aristotle believes that virtues are cultivated by the skills that people develop to better their communities and themselves. These virtues allow people to make decisions that will lead to ultimate good. This contrasts from Socrates’s view of “Good,” because Socrates believed there is an objective Good that people cannot know, but can try to follow and understand through reason. Aristotle, however, believed an individual could perform “good” actions and lead a “good” life by focusing on an activity that gives them a purpose. Both Aristotle and Socrates believed that a life of pleasure will not make an individual happy, but their views of ethics contrasted with each other. If Aristotle saw an artist at work, honing his or her skills and dedicating him or herself to the craft, he would say he or she arrived at a purpose and that was his/her virtue. Socrates would say that person’s ethics are wrong because he/she is not trying to discover the objective Good through reason.
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Elijah Sullivan
9/27/2015 08:02:47 pm
Aristotle's epistemology, an early form of empiricism, means that the only way to know something to be true is to experience it. Opposite of Plato, who felt that something's truest form was unobtainable, Aristotle felt that nothing higher or truer than the world and things we experience can exist, for what we know is the materialized form of the ultimate individual being. Plato would argue that everything we experience is just a less true and less accurate depiction of something;s perfect essence. He believes he knows this because he knows it is impossible to know everything.
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Haley Watson
9/30/2015 01:47:26 pm
Aristotle was a materialist. He believed that truth is found in the world around us. He also believed that everything has an inherent purpose. In regards to humans, Aristotle thought that humans should lead a life of personal and intellectual development in order to be virtuous.
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Emilie Weiner
9/30/2015 07:01:24 pm
Aristotle's philosophy regarding ethics included a definition of virtue as achieving excellence. He believed in a term he called "eudaimonia", loosely translating to "flourishing", meaning that if one has virtue, they actively pursue what allows them to blossom as a human being. The actions that people take should be geared toward bettering themselves as a person by consistently striving to that better self.
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Devon Barnes
10/1/2015 07:42:04 am
Aristotle, although a student of Plato, had different views than his teacher and essentially a different philosophy. However, one thing view that was similar to his teacher's was his view of virtue. Plato believed that virtue was knowledge and Aristotle believed virtue was excellence, but that was about the only difference in their viewpoint of the topic. They both believed that living a virtuous life would essentially lead to living a good life. According to these two philosophers, if one lives a life where they give their best effort in what they are doing and use the knowledge that they have, a good life would be awaiting them.
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Zoe Kralyevich
10/1/2015 09:39:36 am
Aristotle's ontology is mainly based on the idea of "seeing is believing". Aristotle, being a monist, believes that whatever is here right now, in front of us, is what is guaranteed to be real. Any idea of a "heaven" or any place other than the present, it is not real. Buddha, however, believes that knowledge is virtue, and that there is another world, so he is dualist. Buddha believes that what you see is true, but also that it is up to you to create your own other world. By doing this, you will have to complete the Eight Fold Path.
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Jane Breslin
10/1/2015 09:49:17 am
Aristotle believed in eudaimonia, which is most often translated to flourishing. The ethical idea is a state of happiness that comes with virtue. This virtue is equivalent to excellence and to achieve this, it must be done through interaction with the community.
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Kelly Cruz
10/1/2015 09:49:49 am
Aristotle's ontology differs greatly when compared to the ontology that his teacher Plato has. Aristotle believes that virtue is excellence and in order to achieve it, actions must be taken. On the other hand, Plato believes that virtue is knowledge. But even with these differences, Aristotle and Plato do have some similarities when it came to a "good life." Despite having different views on virtue, they both believes that virtue leads to a good life.
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skye post
10/1/2015 09:51:25 am
Aristotle's belief for ontology is realism or materialism. This means the truth lies only within what we can actually see: what we know is real because it exists on this earth. We rely on our five senses to tell us what is real. If I can't see, touch, hear, smell or taste something, it doesn't exist. However, Plato's belief is the opposite. Plato is an idealist and a dualist. This means he believes in two worlds, and that the truth lies beyond what we can see. To him, we're just copies of the ideal form, which exists in another world.
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Presley Gaetano
10/1/2015 09:52:04 am
Although Plato taught Aristotle, Aristotle's views and beliefs were very different to Plato's. To begin with, Aristotle was a monist and Plato was a dualist. Plato believed that everything had a higher more perfect version of itself and Aristotle believed that not everything was it's own thing. Plato also believed that in order to have virtue you need to have wisdom while Aristotle believed that you had to act in a moral manner to have virtue. Overall these two philosophers are opposites of one another.
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Michael Wolff
10/1/2015 09:53:19 am
Arisotle thinks virtue means excellence and his teacher Plato believed virtue meant knowledge. This is one of their only differences. They both believed that virtue is necessary to a happy and good life. It is interesting to me that they had differences even though they worked together and Plato was Aristotle's teacher.
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Gabriela Recalde
10/1/2015 09:58:31 am
Both Aristotle and Plato's philosophies are centered around their own respective "Truths" and what those ideas are supposed to lead to. These two philosophies say that we should lead virtuous lives, but Aristotle's and Plato's ways of achieving virtue are completely different. Aristotle thought that you can only lead a virtuous life through action and excellence. Plato believed that the only way to achieve this was through the process of thought and reflection. These philosophers both believed in the same end result: achieving their ultimate goal in life and living virtuously.
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Eric Banal
10/1/2015 10:03:41 am
Aristotle thought that the truth was in the world around you. This made him a materialist. He also believed that everything had an inherent purpose. He thought everyone should live a full life, full of personal achievements, and therefore, fulfilling their purpose.
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Natalie Hillier
10/1/2015 10:04:29 am
Aristotle's ontology was much more focused on the realm of becoming rather than the actual Self. He argues that reality is not dependent on universal abstracts, but rather on particular substances of physical things. In this sense, Aristotle criticizes Plato by believing that universals are not separate from particulars. Plato's ontological stance is based on the fact that every material object has its own universal concept that is not embodied in the object, but actually separate from it. However both philosophers believe that there are two worlds, Plato's ontology argues that the visible world is a reflection of the "intelligible world" where things are more real and eternal.
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Sam Gregg
10/1/2015 02:49:47 pm
Whilst Aristotle would argue that everything is as it seems, Plato would most likely raise his belief that everything seen exists in two planes. Plato thought that while a visible existence of all things living and nonliving was certainly true, there was also a second, parallel existence consisting of the ideas and wake of everything in the corporeal world. Aristotle refuted Plato's argument by simply asseting that everything that is seen and felt is of tangable existence, effectively winning over the majority of Plato's followers. Most people with eyes and a rudimentary understanding of basic physics and biology would llikely agree with Aristotle.
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Gab Amorelli
10/1/2015 05:35:19 pm
Aristotle believed in the idea of someone "flourishing" to improve and keep improving her or himself. Focusing on bettering oneself is similar to the belief that Buddha had in the aspect of releasing bad energy to create a well rounded being through meditation. Both concentrate on the Self within a person or at least eventually finding it through seeking the middle ground. Buddha more specifically mentions the concept of a soul whereas Aristotle believes in "telos". Adding onto that, both philosophers embrace transformation through nature and it's helpful impact on the user.
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Pat Monaghan
10/1/2015 06:34:20 pm
Aristotle’s ethics are similar to that of Socrates more than his predecessor Plato. The thought of bettering oneself through actions done in this world to benefit not only yourself but the rest of society apparently skips a philosophical generation. Plato’s philosophy didn’t really jive with the aspect of improvement. It was almost oppressive by definition. The idea that someone will never realize the true form of himself or herself or something they feel in life makes the option of self-improvement impossible. At least Socrates tried for self-improvement by asking questions. Plato took “all I know is that I know nothing” to a whole new level. Aristotle held on to that belief that knowledge leads to self improvement but made his own and therefore more personal by saying that to be a better person you must know who you are and find the actions that most make you happy and important to society and continue to do them. If continued he believed you could reach a state of Eudaimon or flourishing. Unlike Plato who wouldn’t know flourishing if it punched him in the ideal form of his throat.
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Sir Adel
10/1/2015 06:49:31 pm
Epistemology for Aristotle included the use of logic to Classify the material world through the four Causes. By examining the world like this, one can find the ideal form of everything. Aristotle believed that the ideal forms of anything would be found in the current materialist world. Aristotle's examination and classification system goes against the ideals of Buddha and his ideal of oneness and disconnection. Buddha spoke of unity and connection emphasizing that everything is connected as one. People need to look at each others as parts to a whole, as apposes to classifying everything in different sections. Also, Buddha's ideology of obtaining inner peace and ending one's suffering includes disconnection with the material world. Aristotle focuses greatly on examining the material world rather than disconnecting from it. According to Buddha, that is not the right path to obtain peace of mind and happiness.
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Tyler Duane
10/1/2015 07:01:14 pm
Aristotle believed that everything seen and touched was the real form of each object. These objects create ideas in our brains that help us comprehend each object and what it does. Each object is seen by our eyes, created in our brains, and then becomes the fulling looking object it is. Aristotle believed that everything that existed is physical, not spiritual idea. This idea closely resembles physicalism, everything is physical and everything is not above or below.
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Kristen Wimmer
10/4/2015 08:51:35 am
Aristotle believed that virtue was the process of eudaimonia-or flourishing. This meant to continually improve one's self by being an active member of the community. For example, doing charitable deeds for the area would be an example of eudaimonia because it allows a person to grow while interacting with the people around them. To Aristotle, that is virtue.
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Aristotle was different then his mentor Plato. Aristotle had the the belief of seeing is believing, Which is known as empiricism. Empirical is to experience, it is the opposite of rationalism. Essentially one had to trust there sense in order for empiricism to work. With empiricism, one would find the truth from the knowledge gained from the world around them. Plato adopted rationalism, where things can be believed through reasoning. Along with that it Plato also everything is some sort of shadow of an ideal form.
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Ricky Wild
10/5/2015 07:57:19 am
Buddha and Aristotle's philosophies and view towards ethics are very similar in some aspect's because of their view on balance. Buddha taught to never become attached to anything because it is hard for you to let go of it. In other words, it is impossible to break free from the chains of everything else. Rather than not getting attached to anything, Aristotle teaches that everything should be used not in excess. This ability to not use anything in excess is sometimes referred to as the Golden Rule. I think Buddha would agree with the rule because it too suggests, not to be overly attached. Buddha taught to find middle grounds and to not lean towards an extreme. For example, both philosophers would probably agree that you should never be ecstatic so much that everything seems unreal or sad all the time that you can't focus on life, but rather you should be appreciative of your surroundings and sway your emotions on the state around you.
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Griffin Leslie
10/5/2015 05:30:19 pm
Aristotle and Buddha have very similar views in the concept of ethics being influenced by virtuous actions. Aristotle's beliefs were deeply rooted in teleology which, in a basic sense, means that everything has it's own purpose in life. He also believed that a good person was one who strives to fulfill their purpose and therefore reach a state of euphoria. Buddha believed that a good person was one who accepted that suffering would occur in their life and acted virtuously from then on in order to reach true happiness. These two beliefs were extremely similar because of the fact that each involved people acting virtuously in order to flourish in life.
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Shea Cody
10/7/2015 05:56:27 pm
Aristotle believed that virtue was an active excellence. This means that to live a happy life, a person needs to find what they love and do it to the best of their abilities. However, Plato believed that happiness is not so simply and easy. According to him, a good, happy life requires an extensive amount of knowledge and ability that not everyone is capable of.
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