Essay/Term paper: Philosophies of socrates, plato, and aristotle

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Philosophy

Philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle


The philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle had different points
of-view but they were also similar in some ways. For example, all three
philosophers had their own thoughts on the subject of justice and government.
Socrates belief on this matter was that democracy was an unwise form of
government. He thought that the electing of the people was unfair justice.
Plato had some of the same beliefs. He believed that government should only
have rulers who had the intelligence and education appropriate for the matter.
His thoughts were that a job should be done only by those who are best suited
for it. To him aristocracy was a perfect form of government.
The point of Socrate's philosophies were to make people think about the
questions he would often ask. The reason for these questions being asked were
to have people to their own thoughts and opinions toward life. He did not think
a person with the right mind should follow the steps of their ancestors.
Instead of going around asking questions, Plato, another philosopher, would
write his own conversations with imaginerary people. These conversations would
cover much of the same topics that Socrates had tried to cover earlier. These
topics mostly dealt with life such as government, opinions toward justice and
how people really viewed education.
Aristotle also had his own theories towards his belief of the "right
government". He wanted his results to show happiness among the people.
He'd mainly collect information from studying living creatures and
observing their living habits. He would do this so that he could see what
brought them happiness. His opinion toward life was that all people should live
a fair and happy life. After many attempts of forming the perfect government ,
his facts allowed him to believe that a perfect government could be formed only
by those who have a middle class. The middle class would consist of those who
were not rich yet not poor.
Both Aristotle and Plato had different thoughts on the division of the
government. Aristotle claimed to believe that a government should consist of
many classes for the protection of the people and the state. While Plato
disagreed and thought that dividing of power was unfair and cruel. In his mind,
he felt that those in the lower class could never have the chance to get any
higher in life.
Though all three philosophers felt that the government should be based
on the equalness of all the people, they all had different views on what
equality really meant. These philosophers all had their own way of gathering
information and passing it through the minds of others.