Plato vs. Aristotle (Metaphysics)

Metaphysics The branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space. Plato and Aristotle changed the way that we think of philosophy through Plato’s theory of the allegory of the cave and both of their pursuits for the understanding of one’s existence

Comparisons Plato and Aristotle both use their definitions of form to overcome problems with knowledge. Both also believe that a chair is a chair because they reflect the form of a chair. Although they differ in the way that they come to that conclusion, both of their forms are comprised of a similar basic idea. Plato and Aristotle are similar in that they both contemplated man’s existence in the world and the significance of that existence. They both tried to understand what it means to be aware of one’s existence and how that existence is related to that of others.

Differences Plato believed that concepts had a universal form, an ideal form, which leads to his idealistic philosophy, while Aristotle believed that universal forms were not necessarily attached to each object or concept, and that each instance of an object or a concept had to be analyzed on its own. Aristotle and Plato believed thoughts were more reliable than senses. They do differ in the fact that Plato believed that senses could fool a person and Aristotle believed that senses were needed in order to determine reality in the most efficient way possible. This difference is what leads to the allegory of the cave, which was created by Plato. According to Plato, the world was like a cave. A person would only see shadows cast from the outside light, so the only reality would be thoughts. Aristotle concluded that the obvious solution is to walk out of the cave and experience what is casting light and shadows directly, instead of relying mainly on indirect or internal experiences. For Aristotle, the body and the soul are not two separate things, but are actually combined together as one thing. Plato believes that the body and soul are two distinct entities. So, according to Aristotle the body and the soul are reliant upon each other in order to make the greatest contribution and Plato believes that they are better off as a separate being.