ARISTOTLES REFUTATION OF PLATOS THEORY OF IDEAS Essay Example For Students

ARISTOTLES REFUTATION OF PLATOS THEORY OF IDEAS Essay Aristotle refutes Platos Theory of Ideas on three basic grounds: that theexistence of Ideas contradicts itself by denying the possibility ofnegations; that his illustrations of Ideas are merely empty metaphors; andthat they theory uses impermanent abstractions to create examples ofperception. Though the theory is meant to establish concrete standards forthe knowledge of reality, Aristotle considers it fraught withinconsistencies and believes that the concept of reality depends upon allforms correlations to other elements. Ideas, Plato believes, are permanent, self-contained absolutes, whichanswered to each item of exact knowledge attained through human thought. Also, Ideas are in Platos view concrete standards by which all humanendeavor can be judged, for the hierarchy of all ideas leads to the highestabsolute that of Good. In addition, the theory claims that states ofbeing are contingent upon the mingling of various Forms of existence, thatknowledge is objective and thus clearly more real, and that only theprocesses of nature were valid entities. However, Aristotle attacks this theory on the grounds that Platosarguments are inconclusive either his assertions are not al all cogent. Aristotle says, or his arguments lead to contradictory conclusions. Forexample, Aristotle claims that Platos arguments lead one to conclude thatentities (such as anything man-made) and negations of concrete ideas couldexist such as non-good in opposition to good. This contradicts Platosown belief that only natural objects could serve as standards of knowledge. Also, Aristotle refutes Platos belief that Ideas are perfect entities untothemselves, independent of subjective human experience. Ideas, Aristotleclaims, are not abstractions on a proverbial pedestal but mere duplicates ofthings witnessed in ordinary daily life. The Ideas of things, he says, arenot inherent to the objects in particular but created separately and placedapart from the objects themselves. Thus, Aristotle says, Platos idea thatIdeas are perfect entities, intangible to subjective human experience, ismeaningless, for all standards are based somewhere in ordinary humanactivity and perception. Thirdly, Aristotle assails Platos efforts to find something common toseveral similar objects at once, a perfect exemplar of the quality thosethings share. Beauty is a perfect example; Plato considered Beauty both anotion and an ideal, isolated by abstractions and fixed permanently whileits representatives fade away. Aristotle claims that abstractions likeBeauty cannot be cast as absolutes, independent of temporal humanexperience; the Idea of Beauty changes with time and individual perceptionsand cannot (as Plato felt) exist forever as a concrete standard. Plato and Aristotle reach some agreement, though, on the topic of reality. Plato believes that all reality was derived from his Ideas (which themselvesdealt with concrete hierarchy of rational ideas. St. Anselm, though, makes the most dogmatic and logically tortuous case forGods existence, relying not upon explanations of goodness, truth, orrational order of ideas but upon an absurd argument. He claims thateveryone has some sense of God, and he claims that for one to deny Godsexistence is an invalid and contradictory assertion; therefore, God exists. Also, Anselm believes that those capable of understanding God cannot believethat he does not exist as if the enormity of the idea was so clear thanonly a fool could not perceive it. His arguments seem the weakest of the four viewpoints here, for they areriddled with dogma and assume that God is a constant using faith alone. Anselm considers faith paramount to logic or other forms of thought and asksno questions as to what powers the universe or what goodness is hebasically follows the Christian party line too closely to be valid. .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e , .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e .postImageUrl , .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e , .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e:hover , .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e:visited , .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e:active { border:0!important; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e:active , .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u2583ffab732622f997f349623d293c4e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Paper motif on Invisible Man EssayIn general, St. Augustine combines Platos idea of a moral hierarchy withhis own rational observations of truth and goodness being embodied in theirhighest form by God. While Plato wavers on Gods superiority, Aristotleviews man as gods pawn, and Anselm uses tortuous dogmatic logic,Augustines arguments seem to make the most sense from not only a Christianpoint of view but from a moral and rational one as well. The philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, and St. Anselm on theexistence of God all vary on the issue of Gods nature; though each thinkertakes a different approach to why there is a God, that of St. Augustineseems the most valid because he takes a rational stance and does notdogmatically assume Gods existence. Platos philosophy assumes that God exists as a supremely good being whosegoodness is analogous to Platos concrete concept or the ultimate good. However, God and