Compare and contrast Plato and Aristotle views on ideal state

Introduction

Plato (428-347 B.C.E.) is remembered as one of the most influential philosophers of all time.

His teachings have laid the foundations for Western philosophy and have inspired leagues of people

around the world to question their surroundings, to leave no stone unturned and to try and

understand the various connections that make up the world around them. Enthused by the

teachings of his formidable instructor Socrates 1, Plato recognised the discrepancies of the society

that existed around him and drew up a blue print of his ideal society characterised by his unique

interpretations of the foundations of Utopia in his famous book, The Republic. There he revealed the

structure of his state system. He said in ideal state the happiness of mankind depends on various

components including general composition, upbringing, environment. Thus, the conduct of proper

leadership, proper protection and proper provision makes the Plato ideal state.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) was Plato’s pupil and thanks to the pedigree of his instructor, is

remembered not even as a subordinate to Plato in terms of his contributions to philosophy, but as

his equal. Thereby, developing his own state system in his famous book ‘The Politics’. There he

talked about the natural instincts of the state. His subsequent model of the Utopian state shares

certain similarities with that of Plato’s in some areas and differs sharply from it in others; in some

areas bears no resemblance to Plato’s at all. The purpose of this essay therefore is to compare and

contrast their ideal States and to understand the theoretical and practical differences between

them.

Content-

1) Communisation of private property- Plato’s conception of ideal state and justice demand the

rule of “Philosopher Rulers” and their emancipation from domestic as well as economic

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worries by a system of communisation of property. By Communisation Plato means the

abolition of private property. According to Plato, being the monopolists of political power

the guardians should not have any property beyond what is absolutely necessary. He

expected them to receive from the citizens only a fixed rate of pay enough to meet the

expenses of each year and not anything more than that. Since the Guardians have no

houses, no lands and live in barracks, it is true to say that “what the rulers have in common

is not the possession of property, but its renunciation”. Plato believed that this renunciation

provides a bond of unity to the state. For Plato, the abolition of property is also necessary to

inculcate certain virtues in guardians. In Plato’s Ideal State what qualifies a person for the

function of government is the “superiority of virtue”, not the possession of property. Since

the fitness of men for the political offices is determined by what they are and not by what

they possess, hence, private property must be denied to the higher classes. Thus, Plato

abolishes private property on the ground that they encouraged favouritism, particularism,

factionalism and many other corrupt practices among the rulers. For Plato politics did not

mean promoting one’s personal interests, rather it was to promote the common good. Plato

thereby wanted to establish a high standard governing and governors by abolishing the

institutions of private property for the guardians.

However, Aristotle was in more disagreement with his master on the communisation of

property. Unlike his master Aristotle highly respected and appreciated the institutions of

private property . He advocated private property as an essential instrument of good life and

also as a means to develop human personality.

According to Maxey, Aristotle said, “Man must eat, be clad, have shelter and in order to do

so ,must acquire property. The instinct to do so is as natural and proper as the provision

nature makes in supplying wild animals the means of satisfying the need of sustenance and

production.
 He believed that private property should be protected by state, because, for the existence

and proper functioning of the household private property is necessary. Though Aristotle

supported the instinct of acquiring property in man as natural he also recognises the need to

put a regulation. Aristotle was the first to pay attention to the economic basis of political

institutions but he focussed on the character and distribution of wealth and its influence on

the form of government. He considered extreme inequality of wealth as an important cause

for revolutions. Though he strongly defended private property, he was also a believer in well

distribution of wealth that is why he preferred and prescribed “Private ownership of

property but the common use of the produce” in an ideal state.

2) Institution of family- When it comes to the question of family among guardians, Plato

considered family to be a distraction and he wanted it to be abolished as it stands in the way

of realisation of his Ideal State. Plato believed that private family postulated property and

therefore communism of property made it necessary to abolish the private family. He

believes it encourages hatred, selfishness, exclusiveness and envy. Plato condemns the

private household as a centre of exclusiveness where selfish instincts flourish and also as an

expression of the acquisitive instinct. Further family affection is a serious and powerful rival

to loyalty to the state. For Plato thus, the abolition of family destroys the centre of

selfishness. Plato wanted to abolish the family for eugenic reasons also. He believed that

conventional marriage led to women’s subordination, subjugation and seclusion. He rejected

the idea of marriage as spiritual union, but accepted it as necessary for the continuance of

the human race. Towards this he advocated temporary sexual unions for bearing children.

He relieved women from the rearing and care services and assigned that work to the state.
Aristotle disagrees and upheld that the family is the bedrock of the state and

fundamental society established according to the law of nature to provide

man’s daily needs.

He despised communism, in his words “…everybody is inclined to neglect

something which he expects another to fulfil; as in families many attendants

are often less useful than a few”.

To Aristotle, family is a natural association of which man becomes a member from the time

of his birth. For Aristotle it is as natural as the State. Aristotle conceived marriage as a holy

institution and family as a source of pleasure for both men and women. He believed that the

family establishes a bond that unites its members and also provides them with a space for

the exercise and development of individual talents. It is not only(from mams notes)

INDIVIDUAL-FAMILY-VILLAGE-SOCIETY-STATE

3)Feminism/Status of women- Plato was a propagator of equality between the sexes in his

ideal State. Plato believed that women should be educated to the same degree as men and

with the same quality of education for ruling as well as the job for ruling itself

should be open to girls and women like the men. Thus, one’s sex is generally

irrelevant to ones qualifications for education or employment. Plato according to

Jon Dorbolo, saw no difference between men and women, apart from their bodies, that

validated inequality in terms of the education that they rightfully deserved. Through the

abolition of private family Plato sought to bring the emancipation of women and their role in

the service of the state. Plato sought to abolish family as it was the assignment of an inferior

status women.

Aristotle followed the typical sexist attitude that prevailed at the time.
 Aristotle asserts that the women are normally subordinate to men, for the male

is by nature superior and the female inferior. The men rules but the women are

ruled (though not as slaves).

In a family, though the husband and wife are interdependent; he considered them not to be

equals. In a family he supported man’s say on things that were worthy of his consideration,

leaving the rest to the woman. Violation of this norm, he felt would pervert an aristocratic

relationship into an oligarchic one. He compares men and women to his version of Ideas,

with women being the producers and men the form that is created. To cite an example: a

sculptor being the woman and a man being the block of marble 2. While the creation of a

statue requires the contributions of both, the finished form of the statue is appreciated more

than the process that goes into making it. Therefore Aristotle relates men with form and

women with matter3. His disdain for womankind was so potent, that he referred to all women

as “mutilated males”. Consequently it can be deduced that women simply had no place in

Aristotle’s State. Thus, Aristotle accepts the customary patriarchal subordination

of women to men.

Therefore while Plato’s ideal State was not necessarily a place of complete equality regarding

the treatment of women, it was a much more friendly and inclusive place than the one that Aristotle

proposed.

3) Concept of Education- from notes.

 Purpose of education - to both philosophers the attainment of knowledge was

necessary both for the interest of the individual and the society, hence it was virtue

by itself. From notes. Aristotle has a different view, to him the aim of education was

2
“Plato’s Feminism: A Discussion of Women in Ancient Philosophy.” Sewanee Senior Philosophy
Essays. Sewanee: The University of the South, 27 Fev.2006. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <Http%3A%2F
%2Fwww.sewanee.edu%2Fphilosophy%2FCapstone%2F2002%2FMartin.html>.
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Allen, Prudence. The Concept of Woman. London: Eden Press, 1985. 92. Print.
 not only the attainment of knowledge but also the attainment of happiness or

goodness in life. He believed that virtue lies in the attainment of happiness or

goodness.

 Plato’s education system in his ideal State was in the form of selective public

education, whose foundation was based upon the fact that a small minority of the

population, because of their rigorous education, were capable of ruling the state

effectively.

Plato’s idea of education in his ideal State has been described as ‘selective public

education’, his pupil however disagrees with such a system. Aristotle supported

education for all, or social education. For Aristotle, education was not to be restricted

to the children of the minority wealthy community, as to do so would result in an

uneducated and unaware population, which would in turn affect the functioning, and

health of the State. Like Plato he agrees that reading, writing, counting, sports and

music of are of paramount importance, and these subjects are known as illiberal

subjects (however unlike Plato, he puzzlingly disregards the higher studies of

mathematics). Aristotle believed that the constant gain of knowledge and education

would lead to virtue, or the attainment of intellectual strength, and this could be

achieved by studying the illiberal subjects. Any form of manual labour that focused

on monetary matters was considered to a liberal activity and to partake in liberal

activities would hinder the process of reaching intellectual superiority. Aristotle

viewed such activities with complete disdain, calling them “vulgar” and “common”.

Therefore a proper education was the only way to nurture man’s nature in order to

achieve the “good”, and since the healthy functioning of the State depended on

spiritually and intellectually enlightened individuals, the provision of education was a

fundamental duty of Aristotle’s State.

5) Theory of Justice-
6) Concept of rulling- Plato’s ruling ideology has been summarized as the “rule of

the best man” – the philosopher king

who alone knows the ideal standards for the state. Also, ruling is a skill; as the

best man must be trained

to rule. Ruling is also an ideal.

The State that Aristotle proposed was ruled, according to him, by the “straight” form of

government. He acknowledged the fact that the rule of philosopher king itself was steeped

too deeply in idealism to be viable in the real world.

Aristotle’s ruling ideology has been summarized as the “rule of the best laws”

– a well ordered constitution which entails good governance. For him,

although ruling is a skill and an ideal as well; it is also a science (although

Aristotle understands politics as a normative or prescriptive discipline rather

than as a “purely” empirical or descriptive inquiry). From notes

7) Social Classification: Aristotle divided the society’s people into three layers. They are

upper class, middle class and lower class. However, Plato divided the society in terms of

work (Aliu, 2018). In his theory of soul/Soul of Happiness, he divided the society into three

working class. He coined the term Apetitive, Rational and Spiritual (Diaz, 2014). According to

Plato, Apetitive group is money lover, seeking for pleasure- this group would be involved in

production work for the society. Spirited group prior honor and recognition the most- this

group would be involved in military and protecting the state. The third group is spirited who

prior rationality most apart from food and money-this class would be philosophers and

would become king to rule. This would be ruling class.

Similarities
1) Political Context: Plato and Aristotle both conceptualized their political ideology on the

context of contemporary (the then) Greek society and city-state. During that period, the

city-states repeatedly involved into waged wars. These wars weakened the strength of

states and worsened the stability. Both Plato and Aristotle agreed on this note. These

wars brought disaster for the society and state system. It was a constant threat. So, both

the philosophers were concerned for that and preached their political ideologies and

own views to bring back the lost glory of Greece. They might have adopted different way

of explanation, but greater analysis depicts that the primary concern and aim of their

ideologies were same

2) Dispute to Democracy/ Anti-democratic ideology: Both philosophers agreed on this

point that democracy destroys the chain of discipline (Gracie, 2020). Citizen become

arbitrary, willful, imperious in the democratic system. Equality may be found in

democratic society but never parallelly and proportionally. So, both Plato and Aristotle

strictly depicted anti-democratic outlook in their political philosophy (Aliu, 2018). In the

history of classical political philosophy, among many philosophers, Plato and Aristotle

have gained their own place and fame due to their political analysis of contemporary

(the then) Greek society and its existence. That time, in order to keep up social existence

intact and make coordination in between society and its individual and different clans

living within it, citizens were obliged to follow some code of conduct. The power in

charge of legitimating this code of conduct was to be called government or sovereignty.

Aristotle and Plato both depicted some justifiable issues. For example- what the code of

conduct should be, why it should be followed and how it can be considered ideal code of

conduct and so on. These issues were significantly and greatly discussed in their political

views. For this reason, idealism, aim or goal related political analysis signifies their

political philosophy and ideology most. The character of their political analysis and

philosophy was based on rationality rather that informative.

 3) . For both, the end of the state is ethical; as justice is the basis for the

ideal state. For Plato, the individual and the state are one, as they both have

a tripartite nature of which justice is the result of a sound balance of these

three parts. Aristotle asserts that the city-state (polis) comes into being for

the sake of life, but exists for the sake of the good life.

4)  Education: A national concern – Plato prescribed that everyone must be

given an equal opportunity in order to prove their mettle as regards where

they belong in the social stratification. This is why he established the

academy. For Aristotle, there should be laws guiding education as a

national

concern. For each is a part of the state and the care bestowed on each part,

naturally tends towards the

care of the whole. Aristotle, like Plato, also established a school “the

lyceum”. Like Plato he believes that the education of the early childhood period should

be the responsibility of the parents. After this, further education is the responsibility of

the state, but it does not mean that parents are free from the responsibility of their

children. They are still responsibility for their moral education. On third note, Aristotle

similar to Plato’s ideals is focused on physical education and sports.

Slavery-  Slavery and stratification of citizens -Both considered slaves as properties

of their masters and
justified the fact that some people are by nature slaves. The fact that both philosophers
hail from aristocratic (wealthy) families could be the reason for this. Likewise, as
regards the social classifications of citizens, for Plato it is the “guardians”,
“auxiliaries” and “artisans”. For Aristotle it is the “rich”, “middle class” and “poor”.
6) Size of the ideal state – Both prescribed that the ideal state be small in size, in
order to attain
perfection easier. The Greek state (Athens) was relatively small. Also, it happened
that the whole of
Greece was divided into small city states, of which each had their own autonomous
government and
ruling system.