Forms

Forms According to Plato and Aristotle

Plato and Aristotle are two of the most important figures in the philosophy . Both thinkers have contributed greatly to the history of philosophy and have paved the way for the other thinkers who came after them . It was their relevance in philosophy that makes them similar , but it was their views on forms which makes them different . Plato and Aristotle took opposing views on the of forms

It was Plato who introduced the Theory of Forms in philosophy (Brickhouse Smith , 2006 . For Plato , the sensible world is

imperfect and inaccurate (Kraut , 2004 . The world that can be experienced by the senses is not absolute , as it is subject to change (Brickhouse Smith 2006 . However , Plato states that there exists another world different from the sensible world

The other world is the exact opposite of the sensible world . It is absolute , perfect , unchanging and eternal (Kraut , 2004 . This other world that Plato introduces is the World of Forms . In this perfect realm , entities known as Forms ' or Ideas ' exist (Brickhouse Smith , 2006 Kraut , 2004 . These entities are abstract ideas which provide a pattern in which the sensible world is based . Some of those abstract ideas are Beauty , Bigness , Equality , Goodness and Unity (Kraut 2004

The most important part of Plato 's Theory of Forms was his explanation regarding the relationship between the Forms and the sensible world According to Plato , the tangible objects of the world only carry their respective characteristics because of their...