Argument and Logic

Argument and Logic

University of Phoenix

By Michelle Caris

Aristotle and Plato on forms

 Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle each held their own philosophies, as far as I understood, which are to be accounted for by their own beliefs and environment in the era of which they lived. While the work of Plato and Aristotle is clearly shown in their own writing, the work of Socrates has only been understood as described by Plato and Aristotle themselves. Socrates believed in a method of learning by way of pedagogy. In other words, he would repeatedly ask questions of his students in order for them to put deep thought into the questions, and come up with their own conclusions. He also believed that what was ethical was not what was stated by the gods, but what would ultimately benefit humanity. He encouraged people to ponder ethics themselves, and come up with what they thought was ethical rather than listening to others. Aristotle stressed gaining knowledge through experiment. He really believed in the scientific method as a way to gain knowledge, and stressed this with his students. Plato thought that in some way, "knowledge was inherent to humans". This meant that experimentation was useless and that pondering concepts was more important (this is in line with Socrates' thinking).Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all stressed the need for logic in life. Aristotle is known to have complained that many people seek knowledge just for the sake of having knowledge. He believed that this was unwise, and that knowledge and logic are instruments which should be employed constantly in making decisions throughout life. Socrates and Plato had similar views on existence, as Plato was a student of Socrates. However, these differed from the views of Aristotle. Plato and Socrates believed that the goal of life is to make decisions for the purpose of taking care of others, as well as yourself, and ensuring maximum happiness for...