Critical Analysis of Plato and Aristotle

They are educated through their strict curriculum, and due to the virtues that they learn, they are able to rule in a just manner (Plato 515a). The purpose of life for Plato is to create a just state. Through a broad education, and a democratic government, justice can be pursued. Justice is defined as the harmony that results when everyone is actively engaged in fulfilling his role and does not meddle with that of others (Plato 434e). When each person follows their role in life, stability can be achieved in the state.

Dictatorship – a government controlled by one person or a small group of people who make all decisions.

Oligarchy - a form of government where the power rests in the hands of a few individuals

b. Monarchy – rule by one where power rests in the hands of a king or queen

Excellence is a function which renders excellent the thing of which it is a function is Plato’s definition of virtue. What does this definition really mean though? Plato and Aristotle both had their own unique arguments devoted to the topic at hand, and their own ways of describing what virtue really is. Defining virtue may seem to be an easy taste, but to truly understand the arguments behind the definition can prove to be very challenging.

Absolute monarchy where a ruler man or woman has complete control over the government. Some may view monarchy as a way to keep everything under control, while most individuals view it as a way a ruler can torment his subjects to his bidding. Rulers viewed proper role of an absolute monarchy as a way to unite the people, on the other hand in their subjects perspective it was a cruel rule and the reason for their laborious life.

In ancient Greece two great written philosophers lived. First there was Plato and then Aristotle. Aristotle was a pupil of Plato. Despite being taught by Plato they had different theories and views. Their ethics were very typical and traditional of ancient Greece but Aristotle detailed virtue ethics and the path to happiness. Plato’s political theories for a utopian society varied from Aristotle’s view of ‘best state for each society’. Their metaphysical theories are complete opposites and very contradicting. Even though Plato and Aristotle came from the same era and were closely linked they had very different philosophies.

The three types are Monarchy which is only ruled by one person, Aristocracy which was ruled by a few people like a class of people, and Polity which is ruled by many people like a population of people. Within the third type of Aristotle’s description of government, it is able to be broken down more into more detailed and what we have in America today. Like in the Federal system, the power is shared between local levels, state, and national. And a confederation is where the states have control over their own people, but they are still connected nationally.

In Aristotle's Politics, he focuses much on the regimes of an oligarchy and of a democracy. Democracies exists when the free and poor, being a majority, have authority to rule, and have an equal share in the city. Oligarchies exists when the few wealthy and better born have authority and grant benefits in proportion to a person's wealth (1280a:10-30;1290a:5-10).

Plato was the father of the “Utopian” idea in which several features were essential. He broke down the human soul in three parts; Desire spiritual and rational. Plato addresses the three features as being a key to the establishment of the perfect society. If every person counterweights with the whole of society and these features than society can understand each other and progress and work towards the advancement of the society. Aristotle takes the same concept but more clearly defines it and takes it to the next level that goes beyond the perfect state and allows its applications to influence the whole system rather that purely serve as its basis. Aristotle has a perfect society but is not as nearly exaggerated as that of a utopia. Aristotle takes a more lenient attitude in his philosophy in

Plato had some views that seemed realistic to society while others to me seemed to be unjust for the people. According to Plato everyone by nature has their own function and in order to make an ideal state they each need to serve that role and only that. They are not permitted to do more than one thing or venture off of what they are suited best to do. These roles are people that are motivated by three

To begin with, Aristotle had developed a theory labelled as the Constitutional Theory. As per Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, Constitutional theory states that “constitutions which aim at the common advantage are correct and just without qualification, whereas those which aim only at the advantage of the rulers are deviant and unjust, because they involve despotic rule which is inappropriate for a community of free persons”. He divided these types of constitution into two categories: correct and deviant. These sets tell whether a certain government is ruled by one ruler, few rulers, and many rulers. Under correct constitutions are the following: Kingship or Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Polity. Next, under the category of deviant are as follows:

He disliked democracy and thought of it as people can do whatever they want when they please. He wanted the guardians to resist temptation to adopt new kinds of poetry and music. Plato's student was Aristotle who learned the importance of observing natural phenomenon from his father. Aristotle's philosophical system was geared toward understanding the workings of the world through the rational analysis of empirical knowledge. "Unlike Socrates and Plato, whose dialogues were often playful, Aristotle delivered lectures on which his students took detailed notes and, and eventually these notes became the basis of separate but interrelated treatises on politics, ethics, logic, metaphysics, and poetics" (Cole 119). He was not trying to perfect society but he was trying to improve the existing one. Aristotle argued that citizens with proper education and obedience to the law are equipped to rule themselves and others. He thought that virtue and justice could be taught to citizens. In both art and law, Aristotle thought that laws must be changed sometimes. Also, he thought that art was not perfect to begin with so why preserve

In the modern world, most of the countries have democratic government, which means that decisions are made by the people, who rule and govern the state. However, there is not a single state that practices perfect democracy due to different reasons. Governments are too big, which makes it very complex for every citizen to have a voice in decisions. Or, governments are claimed to be democratic, but in practice they can be close to authoritarian or even totalitarian regimes where one person has a power to make and enforce laws. Political power is not allocated evenly among all members of society, so, in this or that way, governments tend to fall in the hands of the few, whom we can call the elite or the power elite.

We have two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. These are great men, whose ideas have not been forgotten over years. Although their thoughts of politics were similar, we find some discrepancies in their teachings. The ideas stem from Socrates to Plato to Aristotle. Plato based moral knowledge on abstract reason, while Aristotle grounded it on experience and tried to apply it more to concrete living. Both ways of life are well respected by many people today.