Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the fundamental question of nature of existence, being, and reality. The definition of the word metaphysics has been surrounded by controversies and there is no precise meaning of the word but, basically, metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy. Some philosophers have vehemently repudiated the theory of metaphysics as being meaningless and unverifiable and therefore should be rejected in totality while others such Plato and Aristotle have credited such theories as fundamental principles that guide nature. This paper explains Plato’s theory of idealism and Aristotle theory of materialism and also gives a brief explanation why Aristotle theory is more preferable.
Aristotle’s Theory of Materialism
Aristotle developed his ideas around materialism by arguing that virtually everything in the universe is composed of Earth, water, fire, and air. He further argues that matter is the crucial constituent of nature and things such as mental aspect and consciousness are all consequences of material interaction. This argument implies that Aristotle was materialistic in his approach to metaphysics. Although the material aspect that he refers to does not necessarily imply the physical things that are tangible and can easily be combined to form a complex structure, central to his opinion is the concern that everything exists in form of union. Carrier argues that Aristotle opinion in the context of matter allows us to experience a kind of materialism as well as prevent us from physical and psychological dualism (pg 255).
According to Aristotle matter consists of everything physical and his materialistic perception of matter as a combination of body and soul has attracted divergent opinions. The major assumption drawn by Aristotle under this theory is that one must have a theory of consciousness to construct an absolute materialistic theory of one's mental life (Carrier pg 260). This theory resonates well with the arguments of contemporary scholars and philosophers on the grounds that one needs the notion of consciousness as a basis for enhanced understandability of matter as a fundamental substance of nature. However, Aristotle theory of materialism is complicated to understand because it sounds obscure and exerts more emphasis on the mental aspect of the body.
Plato’s Theory of Idealism
A more contrasting view was presented by Plato who is considered by many as the most important philosopher who has been credited as the father of idealism in philosophy. In philosophy, idealism consists of a group of metaphysical philosophies with the view that reality is fundamentally mental or mentally constructed(The Art of Manliness, TAM para 6). Plato's idealism asserts that reality exists in the realm of ideas but not in the natural physical world that we perceive it to relate to. He argues that when we grasp perceive something within our mind, the real world is actually being conceived in our mindsets. (TAM para 16). In essence, the truth can fundamentally exist in the mind but it is intricate to perceive the truth in the physical world.
Plato's argument can be easily comprehended from the point of argument that human beings are mortal and irrespective of how much time you spend with them they will definitely die while the concept of an idea of a person will continue into eternity. In reality, the physical, living people who occupy the natural world are temporary and have a finite life while the idea of "people" is immortal. Although some critics express the doubt whether such world can exist independent of human mind, Plato is of the view that ideals should be separated from the external world and one must be able to distinguish between ideal and nonideal things (Wolf, 14).
Plato and Aristotle have distinct philosophical approaches to issues such truth, mind, human, and universe. However, both philosophers are the common consensus that there is no science to universal andthey both believed in scientific methods to observe the universe. Most of Plato’s work has been outstanding and have survived for several decades but it is Aristotle contributions that are considered most influential in relation to science and the extent of logical reasoning (Wolf, 26). In the real modern times, both philosophers’ works continue to be overlooked on the basis of theoretical values but they hold great historical importance to many scholars. Aristotle is referred to Plato in the field of philosophy because his work has been recognized as the most sensible and essential contributions.
Generally, I find Plato's argument that the only reality is the ideal world to be fundamental to the modern life. This is because in reality the physical world around is constantly changing making it complicated to identify while there is the world of ideas which is believed to contain unchanging truth. Equally important is the need to use your mind to conceive something in the ideal world and to understand that the truth and the concept of “people” are eternal. Regarding these reasons, I closely identify myself with Plato's theory of idealism since it reflects the reality of today's life.
Work Cited
Carrier, L. S. "Aristotelian Materialism." semantic scholar, 30 Aug. 2006, pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2dd2/4c5b56c5f663ddfe41ac05a852385c397d21.pdf
The Art of Manliness(TAM). (2017, November 25). Plato and Aristotle: An Introduction to Greek Philosophy | The Art of Manliness. Retrieved from https://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/02/04/man-knowledge-the-greek-philosophers
Wolfe, C. T. (2016). Materialism: A historical-philosophical Introduction. Berlin: Springer, 2016.
