Socrates, Plato & Aristotle essays

Socrates, Plato & Aristotle essays Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were famous Greek philosophers who questioned the most basic and widely accepted ideas. Their philosophy was also based on virtue, or moral excellence. Socrates based philosophy on the idea that virtue is knowledge, Plato believed that virtue is a form of understanding and Aristotle believed that virtue is the basis of truths. Socrates believed that to do wrong is to damage one's soul, and that this is the worst thing one can do. Also it is always worse to do wrong than to be wronged, and that one must never return wrong for wrong. Socrates also maintained that virtue is knowledge, called the Socratic paradox, and therefore no one can do wrong in full knowledge. Socrates also insisted on being given a definition that universally covers its subject. This was of the greatest importance for the subsequent development of philosophy because it led to the concept of a universal or a general quality that may be present in many individually existing things. Also important is Socrates' implicit assumption that any person to whom he talks has within him or her, the resources to answer questions correctly. Socrates therefore believes that he can teach merely by asking the right questions. Plato teaches about the power of reason to reveal the intelligibility and order governing the changing world of appearance and to create a harmonious and happy life. He believed that virtue is a form of understanding and that the good life must consequently be grounded in knowledge. The philosopher is pictured as in love with the world as it truly is. His wish to see through the world of flux to the true principles of its being is thus basically an act of love. This love is not simply an attraction to the good but a creative force for the procreation of the good. Plato was impressed by the fact that language has the capacity both to articulate the intelligibility of the world and to belie the world's true being. He constantly a...