What struck me the most about Aristotle was that he emphasized function over form. Unlike Plato, who believed in eternal forms, Aristotle believed that the best forms were the ones that had a function. So ingrained was his belief that Aristotle even stated that “virtue” was when an object achieved its end. “…an excellent man,” writes Aristotle in Book VII, “is the sort whose virtue makes unqualifiedly good things for him. Clearly, then, his use of them must also be unqualifiedly good and noble.”
Do I agree with this reasoning? I think I do. Aristotelian thought does seem closer to human behavior than Plato’s did. Plato’s Republic was a word where relationships, both with objects and other people, all served the purpose of reaching “The Truth.” Whatever “The Truth” is, it still mystifies me. Aristotle, on the other hand, has an ethical and political system based on our relationship with objects and each other. A virtuous man, according to Aristotle, need not do psychoanalytic gymnastics as Plato’s would have, but instead ensure that everything has a purpose. A virtuous man also lives “in the mean”, where wish and appetite are consistent.
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