Two Kinds of Metaphysics: Plato and Aristotle

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Chapter 2 RealityTwo Kinds of Metaphysics
Plato and Aristotle
Introducing Philosophy, 10th edition Robert C.
Solomon, Kathleen Higgins, and Clancy Martin
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Plato (427-347 B.C.E.)

• Born into a family of wealth and political power
• In Athens, influenced by Socrates turned his
  talents to philosophy
• Conceived of a philosopher-king, the ideal wise
  ruler, who certainly did not exist in Athens
• Disillusioned by Socrates execution, devoted his
  life to continuing his work
• Set up the Academy for this purpose and spent the
  rest of his life teaching there

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• First set down his reminiscences of Socrates
  life and death using the dialogue form, with
  Socrates as his mouthpiece, he extended Socrates
  thought into entirely new areas, notably
  metaphysics and the theory of knowledge
• Plato incorporated a theory of morality into his
  metaphysics and politics, particularly in The
  Republic
• Saw ethics as part of politics and the good life
  for the individual, in terms of the strength and
  harmony of the society

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• In The Republic, Plato argues against the various
  views of selfishness and hedonism that would
  interfere
• Virtue, he argues, is the harmony of the
  individual soul as well as the harmony of the
  individual within the society
• Since we have nothing from Socrates himself, it
  is difficult to know how much is original Plato
  and how much is transcribed Socrates
• Predicate that which is asserted or denied of a
  thing, which refers to a property of things
  familiar predicates would be is red, is an
  animal

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The Forms

• Sometimes referred to as Ideas ideal forms or
  perfect examples, the perfect circle or perfect
  beauty
• Forms are the ultimate reality, and they are
  eternal and unchanging
• Plato posits two worlds, the world of being
  (where the forms are located) and the world of
  becoming (where we live, the world that is always
  changing)
• Our only access to the world of being is through
  our reason and our capacity for intellectual
  thought

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The Myth of the Cave

• Our world is like a set of shadows of the real
  world
• It is not an illusion
• It is a mere imitation of the bright originals

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Forms as Definitions

• Two horses have in common the Form horse, and you
  recognize them each as a horse because they share
  the Form of horse. Each individual horse
  participates in the Form of horse
• Forms also explain how we know things outside of
  experience e.g., each horse is also an animal
• But participation is a notoriously unclear
  notion, unless it means just member of the
  class
• Aristotle will attack Plato here

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The Meno

• Because we cannot learn what Forms are from
  experience, Plato argues that knowledge of the
  Forms is innate
• Our bridge between the two worlds is the
  immortality of the soul
• The example of the slave boy is what Socrates
  uses to demonstrate our innate knowledge of the
  Forms

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Immaterialist Conception of Reality

• The Forms exist independently of the material
  world
• The truth of triangles is not contained in any
  particular triangle
• Imperfection of a drawn triangle distinguishes it
  from the Form of triangle
• Plato believed that beauty, justice, and the good
  have Forms

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Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.)

• One of the greatest Western philosophers, born in
  northern Greece (Stagira) father was the
  physician to Philip, king of Macedonia
• Was to tutor Philips son, Alexander the Great
• For eighteen years, a student in Platos Academy,
  where he learned and parted from Platos views
• Turned to the study of biology, and many of his
  theories ruled Western science until the
  Renaissance
• Was with Alexander until 335 B.C.E., when he
  returned to Athens to set up his own school, the
  Lyceum

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• After Alexanders death, the anti-Macedonian
  sentiment in Athens forced Aristotle to flee
• Virtually created the sciences of logic and
  linguistics, developed extravagant theories in
  physics and astronomy, and made significant
  contributions to metaphysics, ethics, politics,
  and aesthetics
• Metaphysics is still a basic text on the subject
• Nicomachean Ethics codified ancient Greek
  morality stresses individual virtue and
  excellence

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• The best life of all is the life of
  contemplation, the life of a philosopher, for it
  is the most self-contained and the closest to
  the gods
• Such contemplation must be together with the
  pleasures of life, honor, wealth, and virtuous
  action

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Aristotles Attack

• Plato never explained the relationship between
  the Forms and particular things
• Aristotle argued that the notion of participation
  is empty

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Substance

• Substance is that which stands alone
• It is independent being a horse, a tree, and a
  human are all substances
• Secondary substances are what Aristotle called
  the species and genus to which a thing belongs,
  and these are less real
• He also claimed that forms are real but that they
  cannot exist independently of the particular
  substance

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• Descriptions of substance
• A substance is the thing that is referred to by a
  noun
• Substance is what underlies all of the properties
  and changes in something. For example, you look
  different than you did when you were five, but
  you are still the same person
• Substance is what is essential

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Teleology

• Universe and all things in it have a purpose
• Four causes
• Material cause the matter that makes it up
• Formal cause the principle or law by which it is
  made
• Efficient cause the person or event that
  actually makes something happen by doing
  something
• Final cause the purpose of the thing on this
  account, everything has a purpose, not just
  things that are alive but also rocks, the stars,
  and even the universe

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Prime Mover

• Aristotle argues that teleological explanations
  cannot go on forever (also called an infinite
  regress) but that there is some ultimate purpose
  that explains all of the other purposes
• The universe itself must have a purpose, a prime
  mover that Aristotle characterizes as pure
  thought, thinking about itself