The Platonic Rationalist and Aristotelian Empirical Way of Thinking

The Platonic Rationalist and Aristotelian Empirical Way of Thinking

Philosophical Inquiry

Section ON22

Erich Grunder

Jim Cook

3/2/2007

During the 17th and 18th century two philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, arose carving for themselves a trench in the philosophical world. We can see the biggest distinction between the two in their theories of how we know things exist. The traditions of Plato and Aristotle have been dubbed rationalism and empiricism respectively. Under these traditions many well known philosophers have formed their own theories of God, existence and the material world. Through these individual theories I will show how each fits into the category of either Rationalist or Imperialist. The Plutonian philosophers to be discussed will include Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. And the Aristotelian philosophers will include Locke, Berkeley and Hume.

Plato, a philosopher of the 17th century, contended that "Opinion at its best is a matter of probability, and knowledge at its least is entirely sure (Lamprecht, 1955, p. 43)" For Plato, knowledge starts with ones senses, nothing can be thought without first being sensed. He then contended that we live in an inferior world of particulars parallel to a world where all objects are perfect, where reality stems forms ideas or ideals. For Plato's culture this was particularly important because they needed a way to distinguish between justice as it was practiced by their government, and the ideal justice that could be thought and hoped for (Rogers & Baird 1981, p. 3). In Plato's search to clarify this problem he used what is now commonly referred to as Rationalism. Rationalism can be defined as "the epistemological theory that significant knowledge of the world can best be achieved by a prior means." Or in simplified terms, rationalism is when we come to a conclusion by deduction from abstract ideas (Rogers & Baird 1981, p. 3).

Juxtaposed to this way of thinking was Aristotle, a philosopher of the 17 century, who stated "Reality consists ultimately of many concrete, individual things and that nothing else is real except insofar as it in some way pertains to these things (Lamprecht, 1955, p.57)." For Aristotle reality was found in the particular things in this world. Each object was a substance composed of both matter and form (Rogers & Baird, 1981, p. 4). Aristotle compiled facts inductively as apposed to Plato's deductive reasoning. His method was to observe and draw generalizations on the basis of patterns perceived in many particulars. This method of problem solving has since become known as empiricism. "According to which general concepts are arrived by ascending inductively from sensory particulars (Lamprecht, 1955, p. 44-45)." Simply stated knowing is based on experience.

Though rationalism was started in the 17th century by Plato, it was further developed by three great thinkers. The three philosophers are: Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz. Descartes' most important contribution was his method. He decided to doubt everything he had ever been taught until he came to some clear and evident idea that could not be doubted. He finally came to the conclusion that he was unable to doubt the fact that he was at that moment doubting. And if one was able to doubt then they were able to think, and if he was thinking then he existed. His first principal was "I think, there fore I am (Rogers & Baird, 1981, p. 69)." Descartes started with this basic idea of his existence, and through his mathematical methods, he deduced that everything, including God and the world, existed.

Baruch Spinoza continued on Descartes work. Spinoza saw that mind and body seemed like two separate substances. He wanted to figure out how they functioned together. Spinoza accepted Descartes mathematical model for deducing knowledge. He defends, outside the intellect; there is nothing but substance and its modes or affections. Spinoza establishes the "Fact and manner of [a] divine causality" through careful mathematical deduction. Consequently, God's essence exists through His own active power and necessity. For this Spinoza was considered an atheist (Collins, 1967, p.83).

Lastly Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was an educated mathematician, scientist, historian, diplomat, theologian and philosopher. He had the same dream as Spinoza and Descartes, that is, "hope for a systematic organization of all conceivable knowledge." In order to achieve this dream he required first, to perfect a universal scientific language that would reduce all thoughts to mathematical symbols. Second, he succeeded in developing one of the first forms of calculus. With this reasoning tool Leibniz hoped to bring all thought under the reign of symbolic logic (Rogers & Baird, 1981, p. 70).

By the 18th century in Great Britain a new philosophical movement was growing. The observational and experimental was coming into focus. The interest of philosophers in the 18th century shifted from rationalism and deductive, to Empirical and inductive. A philosophy was sought that could conclude knowledge through since experience alone.