Tthe Notion of Virtue in Plato and Aristotle

THE NOTION OF VIRTUE IN THE ETHICAL VIEWS OF PLATO AND ARISTOTLE:

Plato and Aristotle, two philosophers in the 4th century, hold polar views on having a

happy life and philosopy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphael's "School of

Athens", where Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher forms; and Aristotle is pointing down

because he supports the natural sciences.

Firstly, Plato’s concept of reality contrasts with Aristotle’s concept. Plato’s theory of ‘ideal

forms’ claims that a perfect world exists beyond the world around us. Our world contains forms

imperfectly copied from the ideal forms in the world beyond. According to Plato, most people cannot

see the ideal forms; they only see their representation or their shadows-stating that: “We cannot gain

knowledge of things through our senses because the objects of sense perception are fleeting and

constantly changing.”. According to Plato, the most important idea is the ‘idea of good.’ Knowledge

of good is the object of all inquiry, a goal to which all other things are subordinate. Therefore only

those who love knowledge and contemplate on the reality of things will achieve understanding of the

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Though a life limited only in the beliefs and opinions- a man is

made of only of desires and reason. If an activity is not done for its own sake, then the

activity becomes inferior. One should be able to

explain this aspect while demonstrating the eternal truths. This virtue of character is also known as ‘practical wisdom’. For Plato, happiness is based on pleasure, and

each part of the soul has its own pleasure.

Therefore according to Plato, philosophers who by definition are knowledge lovers, are the

only beings who can reach true knowledge. That

virtue is something that could be achieved through senses, beliefs and opions. In order to reach Sophia, you must be able to grasp the first basic principles. He believed that “in a properly functioning

soul, the intellect--the highest part--should control the appetite--the lowest part--with the aid of the

will. In contrast, Aristotle’s theory of the natural world states that our world is reality.

Plato further claimed that ‘happiness’ is the natural consequence of the soul’s healthy state. The lower class does not takepart in politics because they lack

of the knowledge.

In Plato’s theory of eidos, one needs to reach the form of the good in order to be virtuous and therfore

be happy. Plato

argued that it is worse to commit an injustice than to suffer one since immoral behaviour is the

symptom of an unhealthy soul. These three categories correspond directly with the three main divisions of the human soul –

‘the appetitive’, ‘the spirited’, and ‘the reasonable’.

Approximate Word count = 1300
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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