Plato’s Philosophy: Influence and Ideas
Question 3 of Plato’s Relationship
Plato, a 5th-century BC philosopher, influenced the philosophical thought of authors after him, such as Aristotle. He was also influenced by the philosophy of his time. 5th-century BC Greece was characterized by Sparta’s victory over Athens and the subsequent government of the Thirty Tyrants, a political system that led to Socrates’ death, which Plato opposed. It’s no wonder that his teacher’s death made him consider a completely opposite form of government. Therefore, based on the Socratic universal (Virtue = Good = Happiness), he developed a political theory proposing a republic as the ideal government.
Socrates had the greatest influence on Plato. For both, as mentioned above, happiness is associated with the Good. Only those who achieve it can be happy. Reason is the only thing that can enlighten us on this path, as both Plato and Socrates believed that knowledge is the only thing that can bring happiness. Only knowledge can lead to understanding universals (Good, Justice, Happiness) and, therefore, to being virtuous.
In this aspect, both authors differed from the Sophists (teachers of the time). While the Sophists educated citizens for good governance, they pursued political ideals and power, not the Socratic and Platonic ideals of wisdom, virtue, fairness, and solidarity.
Plato also differed from the Sophists in his understanding of reality. For the Sophists, there were no universals; everything was relative to the knower. Social norms were conventions, not inherent properties, but created by individuals. In contrast, Plato believed in the existence of universals, which were not created by individuals but existed a priori.
For Plato, true knowledge was not in this world, which was subject to constant change (an idea he took from Heraclitus), but in the world of Ideas. This world was stationary, static, permanent, fixed, and true, unlike the world of the senses. True knowledge resided in the Ideas, which had the same characteristics that Parmenides attributed to Being, mirroring the real world. Plato also distinguished between two types of knowledge: one based on reason and the other on the senses. He believed that the senses were misleading and showed a changing, false, and destructible reality, which is why we should only rely on reason for knowledge.
These theses led Plato to argue for the existence of two worlds or realities. One was the changing world we perceive, and the other was a realm of true knowledge accessed through dialectic. While he adopted Heraclitus’ concept of change, he used dialectic differently. Heraclitus used it to explain the changes in nature, while Plato used it as a method to access true knowledge and the Ideas. Dialectic led from one idea to another, reaching the supreme Idea of the Good (ascending dialectic) and allowing us to understand the place of each Idea (descending dialectic).
Access to the Idea of the Good was restricted to the wise, the philosophers, those who possessed a rational soul. Plato placed the body, with its passions, below the soul, which possessed knowledge. This anthropological dualism, connected to ontological and epistemological dualism, had its roots in the Pythagoreans. For them, as for Plato, humans were a composite of body and soul, with the soul surviving after death. The body represented instincts, passions, and desires, while the soul was connected to reason, knowledge, and truth. The soul had knowledge from the world of Ideas, and even when embodied, it could recall this knowledge through education. This was possible through a righteous life based on the Good and Justice, eliminating passions.
Aristotle, Plato’s disciple, diverged on this point. He believed that passions should not be eliminated but scrutinized. For Aristotle, virtue was achieved through habit and custom. Happiness was not inherent but built through good deeds. Another difference was that, for Aristotle, knowledge was not innate or a priori but created daily. This highlights the difference between Platonic idealism and Aristotelian realism. While Plato focused on the existence of two worlds, Aristotle focused on the specific circumstances of each individual. Regarding anthropological dualism, Aristotle believed that the soul and body were inseparable, unlike Plato, who saw the soul as existing before the individual.
Despite their differences, Plato and Aristotle shared similarities, such as connecting ethics and politics and pursuing individual happiness through knowledge. However, their methods differed. Plato pursued the absolute, transcendent, and universal Good, while Aristotle pursued the relative and concrete. Aristotle also emphasized the importance of material goods for happiness, which Plato strongly opposed, believing that reason should suppress passions.
In ethics and politics, the two authors also differed. Plato’s political ideal was the philosopher-king, a wise ruler, while Aristotle believed that the philosopher should lead a contemplative life devoted to knowledge. Aristotle focused on how to govern, while Plato, in his Republic, argued for the philosopher-ruler as the best politician to guide the public toward knowledge and away from ignorance.