Plato and Aristotle: Dispute on the Good

Plato sees the Good as the ultimate form of being. In his book, The Republic, he goes into great detail about what exactly the Good is, as well as making analogies to build upon his theory of the metaphysical form of knowledge that everyone desires to achieve, which will allow them to reach the Good. He holds achieving the Good as a sort of nirvana, which all philosopher-kings, among anyone else, want to achieve. In Plato's eyes, the form of the Good is the highest state of knowledge and understanding that any human being can obtain so in doing so a philosopher-king would rule in virtually the best possible way. In theory, the Good would then be reflected in the city because of the superlative ruling of the king.

In The Republic, Plato's idea of Good being the source of everything that's beautiful, truthful, and just, appears after the example of the prisoner in the cave.

In the world of knowledge, the essential idea of the good is the limit of what can be seen, and can barely be perceived; but, when perceived, we cannot help concluding that it is in every case the source of all that is right and beautiful, in the visible world giving birth to light and its master, and in the intelligible world, as master, providing truth and mind..

In this example, it's explained that there are four levels of human knowledge that are split in two realms, the physical and the intelligible. The sun is what illuminates the physical realm allowing us too see and understand our surroundings, the Good is what illuminates the intelligible realm allowing us to understand and be knowledgeable. Plato makes many comparisons between the sun and the Good and their roles in each realm. The sun is responsible for allowing us to see, just as the Good is responsible for allowing us to understand and learn about things. The sun is also what allows life to exist on earth similar to how the Good gives existence to the Forms and knowledge in the intelligible realm. In the analogy of the cave Plato describes the realms and the four levels of knowledge and how they apply to understanding and achieving the Form of the Good. He presents an instance where there are people chained up their entire lives being only able to see shadows on the wall of the cave. At this state, the prisoners are at the lowest level, imagination, where their knowledge of the world does not extend beyond the shadows they see on the wall. When one of these prisoners is released from their chains, they go through the other three levels of knowledge one by one. This prisoner first finds the statues that have been casting the shadows on the wall. This is the stage of belief where inanimate objects are the most real thing to this prisoner. Next, the prisoner steps outside and sees grass, trees, and the rest of the natural life outside of the cave. Now he's left the physical realm and has entered the intelligible at the stage of thought. Images and objects are no longer the extent of his knowledge. In the intelligible realm he beings to rely on his own intellect and philosophy for knowledge, and starts making assumptions about the world. Here at the stage of thought he begins to understand the world around him more and makes hypotheses about how it works. Lastly, the prisoner looks up towards the sun and realizes this is the source of everything he sees around him and is what gives him the light to enable him to see his surroundings. This is the stage of understanding and is where the prisoner understands the Form of the Good and all other forms. To reach the highest level of knowledge a person needs to work through each stage and then use the philosophical dialect they've developed to reach the Form of the Good. Once there they've reached complete understanding.

In terms of behavior, Plato states in his book that acting justly is acting in accordance to the Good. Not just that, but he states that it is the good in people's souls that makes them have good qualities or perform good actions and that all things that are good are good in the same way.

Ð'...the sun supplies the visible things, not only the faculty of being seen, but also their generation, growth, and nutriment, though it is not itself the same as generationÐ'...in like manner, the knowable not only derives from the good the gift of being known, but is further endowed by it with being and essence; so the good, far from being identical with it, is beyond being in dignity and power.

In this statement, Plato shows how all good things come from and are the result of the greater Form of Good. In saying this, Plato compares the sun's gift of life and illumination to the earth, to the Good's gift of making things knowledgeable and giving people their ability to perform good acts and live justly.

` Aristotle's Objection to Plato's Conception of the Good

1) Assume that Plato's conception of the Good is correct.

2) Fact: Plato uses Good in his discussion in many ways (of substance, quality, relation, instrumentality, intrinsically, etc.)

3) 2) For ex., he accepts that one might say that, of x and y, x is good where "good" is a quality of x

4) 2) Similarly, he accepts that one might say that, of x and y, x is good relative to y

5) 2) Still, he accepts that one might say that x is good in and of itself, i.e. intrinsically

6) 2) Or, he would accept that one might say that x is good in and of itself, i.e. intrinsically good.

7) 1-6) Conclusion: Because Plato fails to posit classes of priority and posteriority, Good turns out to be instrumental and intrinsic at one and the same in the same respect of itself.

8) 7) Results in violation of the Principle of the Non-Contradiction.

9) 1-8) Therefore: ~1) i.e. Plato's conception of the Good is not the case.

10) Corollary: Good can't be universal and singular.

11) Corollary: Plato's mistake is evidenced by the fact that the scientific accounts of Good and good are the same.

Aristotle's main problem with Plato's conception of the good is that it contradicts itself. In saying that he can see "good" as being relative, intrinsic, and instrumental, he contradicts his statement that there is one universal Good.

,since Ð''good' has as many senses as Ð''being' (for it is predicated both in the category of substance, as of God and reason, and in qualityÐ'...), clearly