The Influence of Plato and Aristotle

The influence of Plato and
Aristotle in contemporary Greece
COURSE: PHILOSOPHY POLICY

COURSE INSTRUCTOR: PAWEL KUSIAK
STUDENTS:
DIMITRIOS SARANTOU
MARIA TSIMARA
Introduction
Plato
and Aristotle are two of the most important

philosophers whose writings have influenced the future and
the thinking of the whole world
Plato was a student of Socrates. He was born from a
conservative family so, he was against oligarchy. The death of
his teacher made him critical towards democracy. He wrote
the Republic in which is explains his utopian regime.
Aristotle was a student of Plato and he attended at Academy.
Aristotle was hesitant towards not only democracy, but also
oligarchy and tyranny. He tried to find out which form of
government is the best one.
The Platonic ideal republic

Plato
introduces in his fantastical political

innovation the ideal form of government. One of
the most fundamental concepts in this book is
justice, which is defined as a situation in which
everybody does what he is delivered to do.
There are three classes: the philosopher-rulers, the
guardians and the producers, all aiming to
satisfaction of common good.

Who is responsible to govern? What is the nature of
democracy ?
The allegory of the cave

Using this allegory, Plato compares the prisoners to
normal people, who are enchained by oblivion, shadows

to fake reality and the light of the sun to the power of
knowledge and virtue.
He strongly implies the need that the freed prisoner,
who is compared to philosophers, should come back to
the cave, unchain the others and led the to the hard path
which leads to the light.
Protagoras: deals with the teachable of virtue, which
is related to who has the proper wisdom and logic so as
to participate in public affairs.
Political philosophy of Aristotle

Politics is the sequel of Nicomachean Ethics, in which he
discusses the meaning of happiness () and virtue.

Aristotle believed that ethics and politics were closely linked.
The ideas of Aristoteles for political community are best
described in Politics in which he results that political
community is actually the evolution of family and villages.
He claims that human is a political animal by nature. Family
and villages could make him secure his life and political
community secure the quality of his life ( ).
Each community has a certain purpose of existence, political
communitys final goal is the common good and sufficiency
().
Political philosophy of Aristotle

He investigates what does citizen means and what defines him.
For Aristotle, citizen is the one who takes part directly in every
part of political life, such as justice and public proceedings.

He thinks about regimes trying to find out which is the best
possible regime and how could this be stable and prevent
revolutions.
Three true forms of government: monarchy, aristocracy, and
polity (constitutional republic). The deviated forms of these are
tyranny, oligarchy and democracy.
Democracy is a government of the many and poor, and
oligarchy of the few and rich.
He deals with the kinds of democracy, depending in which is
the preponderant value, the laws or the people.
Their influence in Modern Greece

The dictums of Plato and Aristotle have been a legacy for
Greece. Greek revolution of 1821 had as a rule the

principles which these two great philosophers had
stated. The value of freedom has so predominant role in
the Republic as in the Politics.
In proportion, we could compare philosopher-rulers
from the allegory of the cave of Plato to many of
intellectuals of this period, who helped
Greek
prisoners to get free from their chains even if none of
them was will to govern according to philosopher rulers.

Focusing on the history of modern Greece we could
realize that the principles of these philosophers were not

been followed precisely.
In Protagoras he deals with the political virtue and if
there is the ability to be taught and he also thinks if it is
right everybody to participate in political life. Some
conservative people would claim that it is not fair for
half-taught to be a part of politics since they are easily
manipulated. For this manipulation, main responsible
are the means of communication and information, such
as television and journalists, whose propaganda we could
compare to the shadows that prisoners see as truth.

In the Republic justice means that every social class
doing its duty, leading the whole community to

happiness. Sometimes, this means that a certain person
should compromise his interest in the name of common
good.
Does this fact affect his freedom? Does unlimited
freedom strike justice?
The coercion of philosopher rulers: sometimes is
necessary to force unwilling illuminated people to
govern. It is obvious that the ethical meditation about
using violence aiming to the common good is still crucial.

In the modern Greece, the view of Aristotle is
overruled, since the present regime is Constitutional

Representative Republic.
Republic also is an utopia which makes it really
hard to be invoked.
The kind of democracy that is invoked in Greece
nowadays seems similar to one of the kinds of
democracy that Aristotle had descripted, but lacks in
the ideal standards.

Citizenship: this word does not have yet the same
meaning that Aristotle had given.

When we are talking about a citizen in modern Greece,
we actually mean this person who has a legal bound with
the state, giving him some prerogatives and some duties
as well.
Aristotle had defined as citizen the person who has an
active role in the political proceedings.
Therefore, in Modern Greece, more and more people do
not seem to interest about these, so they tend to lose
their title as political animal.
Epilogue
It is clear that these two philosophers had such

great visions which if every society had adopted, it
would have been in such situation that all of its
citizens could be happy and fundamental principles,
like justice, equality and freedom, would not be
disputed.
Greece, as the mother country of them, tried to
preserve their values, despite the fact that it was
extreme difficult to formulate them.
The most significant issue is that their principles
remain indelible in time.
END OF PRESENTATION
Thank you for

your time!!!!

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The influence of Plato and

Aristotle in contemporary Greece

COURSE: PHILOSOPHY POLICY

and Aristotle are two of the most important

The Platonic ideal republic

introduces in his fantastical political

The Platonic ideal republic

The Platonic ideal republic

normal people, who are enchained by oblivion, shadows

Political philosophy of Aristotle

discusses the meaning of happiness () and virtue.

Political philosophy of Aristotle

part of political life, such as justice and public proceedings.

Their influence in Modern Greece

Greece. Greek revolution of 1821 had as a rule the

Their influence in Modern Greece

realize that the principles of these philosophers were not

Their influence in Modern Greece

doing its duty, leading the whole community to

Their influence in Modern Greece

overruled, since the present regime is Constitutional

Their influence in Modern Greece

meaning that Aristotle had given.

It is clear that these two philosophers had such

Thank you for

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