Aristotle and Plato

It is worthwhile , in a discussion on the differences in Aristotelian and Platonic notions of Ethics , to first highlight the similarities and thereafter consider the disagreements in processual thought . Aristotle 's deliberations in Nichomachean Ethics is very much similar to Plato 's in the Republic in that they are both concerned with an individual ethics - a method of evaluating what a moral life is so as to counter the scepticism established by the sophists particularly the view that justice is merely the interest of the strong in society who formulate moral

and legal systems to justify their own self interest . Human well-being (eudaimonia ) is then the highest aim of moral thought and conduct , and virtue is the centre of a well-lived life . This form of ethics is often term virtue-based ethics . Consequently , an understanding of what makes a particular person good , or goodness , part of a larger consideration of what makes the community , or polis , good though Plato argues that justice of the individual is independent of justice in the polis

The ways in which Aristotle and Plato achieve an understanding of the good , or morality , differ radically and have always been considered antithetical . Plato 's concept of ethics and morality , as is with much of his philosophy , is located in a transcendental , metaphysical objective reality that is located in the realm of Pure Forms (known as the Theory of the Forms . For Plato , there is an objective reality of pure goodness or the Form of the Good that is...