Skip to content

DA4. Plato, Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas

Statement

  • Your FIRST of TWO topics this week:
    • Contrast Plato with Aristotle and decide whom you agree with more (and why)
  • Your SECOND topic post in the Discussion Forum this week:
    • Evaluate Saint Thomas Aquinas’ view of the root of good society

Answer

Plato vs. Aristotle

Plato (427-347 BCE) and Aristotle (384-322 BCE) were two of the most influential philosophers in the history of Western philosophy. Socrates was the teacher of Plato, and then Plato became the teacher of Aristotle. The philosophy of Socrates has influenced both, however, each of them had its own views later in life.

The Table below compiles notes about each philosopher’s views on various philosophical issues (Diffen, 2024):

Aspect Plato Aristotle
Philosophy Idealism (concepts had a universal and ideal form). Empiricism (each instance of an object or a concept had to be analyzed on its own).
Logic Inductive reasoning (No theory to test, observe pattern to develop a theory). Deductive reasoning (Theory pre-exists, do experiments to develop a conclusion).
Ethics Knowledge is virtue, to know good will lead to do good. Knowing good is not enough, you still need to decide to do good or not.
Science Less important as most of his work was generalization. Considered a true scientist; promoted the scientific method.
Political Theory Individual is more important than society. Society (Polity, Government) is more important than the individual or family.

I agree with Aristotle more than Plato on most issues; although both paths are of significant importance, Aristotle’s adoption of the scientific method and the empirical approach to knowledge and ethics is more appealing to me. In political theory, I tend to have a more balanced view between the two, as I believe the society and the individual are equally important, and it is important to find the right balance between individualism that preserves one’s rights and freedom, and -on the same time- the collectivism that preserves the everyone’s rights and duties towards everyone else.

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274) was a scientist and philosopher; his views were the crossroads between Aristotle and Christian doctrines; He wrote about natural law and the common good; Aquinas believed that the natural law is the law of God (UTM, 2024).

He believed that nature is organized for good purposes, and God created nature and rules the world by divine reason. Aquinas stated that reason reveals particular natural laws that are good for humans such as self-preservation, marriage and family, and the desire to know God. Human law as opposed to natural law is created by humans according to their needs and may change with the circumstances. He sees the government’s role as helping everyone work for the common good, which can be summarized as protecting life, preserving the state, and promoting peace (TeachDemocracy, 2023).

To conclude, Aquinas believed that the natural law is the source of good society, and this law was created by God; when rulers start to put their own human law, they usually deviate from the natural law and become unjust or tyrants.

References

‌ ‌ ‌