Socrates Vs Aristotle Analysis

Aristoteles y Plato are two of the greatest philosophers in history. Plato was a teacher of Aristotle, so it is common that we find some similarities between them. Aristoteles does not agree with the political and social philosophy of Plato; but both have something in common, in his two books, Plato with “The Republic” and Aristoteles with “Politics”, both try to decipher what is "the ideal state". For Aristotle, man is a political animal that lives in a polis, or state. For man to develop and be happy, he has to live within a society that is governed by laws and regulations; for Aristotle this is a political life, and for him, Plato's theory regarding complete unity violates the nature of this political life. According to Aristoteles, the

For Aristotle, there are three forms of government; the government of a single individual or monarchy, the government of a few, oligarchy or aristocracy and the government of many, democracy. Within the three forms there are just and unjust. First he analyzes the monarchy, it is good if the ruler is fair and it is bad if the ruler is a tyrant. Second analyzes the government of a few, if the government is good is called aristocracy, if the government is bad consider it oligarchy. Third is when we let the majority rule, if they govern is just it is a constitution, if they govern badly it is a democracy. Aristotle believes that nature is essential to maintain order, some men, the most intelligent, were born to give orders and govern, and the less intelligent or were endowed with brute force, will be destined to obey as slaves. Aristoteles said, “The conclusion is evident; that governments, which have a regard to the common interest, are constituted in accordance with strict principles of justice, and are therefore true forms; but those which regard only the interest of the rulers are all defective and perverted forms, for they are despotic, whereas a state is a community of freemen.” (1279a 15-20) For Aristotle, the best form of government was to be ruled by a middle class. If they governed by the upper class, they would implement laws that would benefit them only. If, on the other hand, the government were run by

Plato believes that each individual must live moderately, and that property must be distributed with equity. There should not be much wealth or much poverty in the city, this can cause problems among individuals, and affect social relations. “So both poverty and wealth make the products of the crafts worse, and the craftsman too” (421d-422a). Aristoteles believes that if individuals are equally rich or equally poor, they will become lazy and unwilling to work; at the same time, this will make them unhappy, because they have no challenge or motivation in their lives. For Aristotle, individuals must have the option to share property or not, common property would affect the virtue of generosity in individuals. For him, the best solution is private property, which could be shared if the individual wants it. Aristotle does not believe that properties should be shared, as he said, “It is clearly better that property should be private”. (1263a 40) He believes that the regulation of properties is the most important issue in the government, because it is the major cause of wars and revolutions. He leaves it established with the following assertion, “In the opinion of some, the regulation of property is the most important matter of all, because that is the issue in all revolutions” (1266a