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Yazid Alkhalawi
Teresa L Welch
Philosophy-1000
April 27 2015
Comparison between Philosophers Plato and Aristotle
Interdiction
Plato and Aristotle are both famous Greek Philosophers who have great influence in the
modern systems of science, mathematics, philosophy, education, ethics, and other schools of
thought. They are both famous philosophers who studied aspects of life and influenced logical
reasoning by leading people explore more into logic as an influential part of thought and
behavior. The philosophers may not be regarded as having great influence in modern time but
they have a significant value in the history influencing the modern schools of thought. Plato was
a classical Greek Philosopher and mathematician, who are considered as an influential figure in
the development of western tradition and mathematics. He is estimated to live between 428 and
348 BCE. His teacher was Socrates, who was also a famous philosopher and mathematician, and
consider one of the best teacher of all time. Plato was Aristotle teacher and both are regarded as
the fathers of science and modern way of life. The European philosophy that led to the pursuit of
other fields of education and knowledge were greatly influenced by the works of Plato and
Aristotle. Aristotle lived between 384 and 322 and is considered as the greatest Greek
mathematician and Philosopher. He was also influential in other subjects such as biology,
physics, aesthetics, theater, music, linguistics, zoology, government, and politics as well as
rhetoric. He was the advisor of Alexander the Great and many scientists have considered him in
their debt in influencing their way of thinking (Hadot 134).
Platos works and education were influenced and guided by Socrates, just as he
influenced Aristotle. However, their philosophies moved to different areas of thinking long after
their deaths. Their works were later recorded to have great influence in other areas of human life.

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The primary Greek philosopher was Plato, based on his works and ties to the famous thinker
Socrates. Platos work was applied in his academy which was closed more than 1000 years later
in 529 AD. His works in philosophy were copied all over Europe and were the backbone of
classic education. His works were also required for political theorists work until the 19th century
due to its admiration for elegant prose as well as views. On the other hand, Aristotles
philosophies were influential in science, religion and ethics especially in the middle ages. His
theories in ethics, religion and free will were used by St Thomas Aquinas to forge the virtue
ethics of Christianity. Aristotle also made scientific observations that were considered useless
until the Renaissance period when scholars considered them for scientific investigation and
started scientific investigation and experimentation to find proof to his findings. Aristotle is
considered the father of the empirical approach in science and philosophy, which is based on
direct experience, observation and hypothesis. He is considered to have pioneered the scientific
activities that carry out studies and investigations in every field of study. Aristotle considered
every principle as involving an empirical approach that required proof (Barnes 390). However,
studies show that most of Platos works have survived as compared to Aristotle. Aristotles works
that have survived have been allusions of contemporary schools rather than his original treatises.
Similarities
Aristotle and Plato have several similarities as far as their works and influence is
concerned. The two Greeks based their philosophies on four beliefs that surround the human life.
They both accepted the knowledge of what is real. They also recognized the experiences of the
world through individual senses and agreed that that is the reality. The two philosophers also
agreed that knowledge that is experienced by people via their sensory organs is the reality and
cannot change over time. Therefore, the feeling of pleasure or pain cannot change in human life

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over time. Aristotle and Plato also agreed that the world that people experience is neither fixed
nor unchanging, meaning that the experiences of a person can differ by the influence of
environment. The two philosophers agreed on the four principles in order to agree to a specific
point of view that knowledge is possible and universal (Barnes 395). They both overcame the
contradictions by previous influences that knowledge was limited only to a few. Their
philosophies also made them to contradict in argument if it became necessary as well as
providing proof on unnecessary argument through logic. The two philosophers used judgment as
their tool of argument. Plato gave the reason that what people experience through their senses is
reality. On the other hand, Aristotle pointed that reality is knowledge, which is fixed and
unchanging. Each philosopher, therefore, gave arguments supporting their points of view.
Aristotle accounted for how one has knowledge and how it can change while Plato focused on
where to find knowledge.
Differences
Platos views of reality and belief are based on the idea that there exists a perfect or ideal
world, which is beyond the physical earth. According to Plato, the world that we live in is full of
imperfections, unevenness, impurities and uncertainties, which lead to the belief that everything
in the world is beyond human control (Hadot 134).Plato also argued that the physical world and
the existing forms all imitate a disorderly way. He stated that there was an external realm of
forms that related actively and controlled our world, which could be revealed to the people and
brought about order in ones life. On the other hand, Aristotle argued that one cannot know the
interaction that existed between the forms of life (Hadot 137). He ideal or real forms, according
to Aristotle, may be unchanging, pure or eternal, which raises the question on how the forms of
the earth may be imperfect or change from time to time. The two philosophers also differed on
realism on the ability of a person to establish the link between the ideal forms of life and what

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one perceives or gives proof on the form that controls the material world. Their philosophies
influenced other scholars to attempt to determine whether there was energy the forms. Plato
focused on looking for the form that controls the earth while Aristotle focused on how the earthly
forms can interact or behave.
Platos arguments were based on platonic idealism while Aristotle based his arguments on
analytic empiricism. According to Plato, the ideal form or the truth can be derived in an abstract.
One can apply mathematics and fundamental proofs to locate the true form of ideals. The ideal
forms of truth cannot be perceived fully using only our senses, since they can only reveal the
shadow or the fallen forms. The mathematical forms or truths can be used to show the true forms
according to Plato, which can be shown in the modern philosophies of deduction. Plato points
out that observation is a misleading form of truth and is also folly (Hadot 137). The abstract truth
lies in ones mind rather than in the natural world, making natural observation only a road
towards achieving the abstract truth. Aristotle also believed in the application of fundamental
principles of mathematics and science in locating the true form. He came up with systematic
observation and carrying out an empirical analysis that involves classification and breaking down
of the natural world. The empirical process should involve logic in order to make
true statements. Aristotle came up with the logic in philosophy by defining that one
should consider what something is as why it occurs. He differs with Plato on the belief that the
use of other arts is also useful in helping in understanding things. He pointed out that
understanding other arts was important in an argument, while Plato only saw it as confusing
logic (Hadot 137).
Conclusion
Aristotle has a better philosophical system as compared to Aristotle. Aristotle carried out
an in in-depth empirical methodology before coming up with a conclusion in argument. In order
to achieve such kind of an understanding, he can be considered as the father of the modern

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scientific method of study or the modern science system. Platos philosophies are more
concerned with realism. He considered the difference between what people perceive as real and
what is real while Aristotle introduced formal logic which was dominant in the Western logic
until the development of mathematical logic later in the 20th century. Most of the schools of
thought have pointed out that Aristotelian philosophies influenced their deductive inference. He
introduced reasoning and deductive arguments. Scientists and historians before the 19th century
considered Aristotelian philosophy as unchallengeable since they were so complete. Aristotle
advocated for experimentation, observation and analysis, making it difficult for scholars to carry
out empirical studies before publicizing their works.
Works Cited
Barnes, Jonathan. Mantissa: Essays in ancient philosophy IV Oxford University Press, 2015.
Print.
Hadot, Ilsetraut. Athenian and Alexandrian Neoplatonism and the harmonization of Aristotle
and Plato BRILL, 2015. Print.