Publisher's Synopsis
*Discusses the philosophers' writings about knowledge, logic, metaphysics, science, reason, Forms, political science, rhetoric and more.
*Includes busts and other art depicting Plato, Aristotle, and important people and events.
*Includes a Bibliography on each for further reading.
"Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils - no, nor the human race, as I believe - and then only will this our State have a possibility of life and behold the light of day." - Plato, The Republic
"All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight. For not only with a view to action, but even when we are not going to do anything, we prefer sight to almost everything else. The reason is that this, most of all the senses, makes us know and brings to light many differences between things." - Aristotle, Metaphysics
Over 2300 years after their deaths, Plato and Aristotle remain the most influential ancient Greek philosophers and arguably the greatest icons of ancient thought. Their legacies expanded rapidly and extensively across the ancient world, helped in part by the fact Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great, and both philosophers were recognized as celebrated intellectual forces during all of antiquity and the Middle Ages. Furthermore, Greek thought and political influence began a rapid decline after Plato and Aristotle, and the cultivation of knowledge, so important during the classic period, slowly but surely began to fade.
The longevity of the the two philosophers' legacies is matched only by the incredible breadth of their works. Plato and Aristotle covered everything from the soul and metaphysical issues to political philosophy, science and ethics, and while Plato was the champion of dialectics (in the form of Socratic dialogues), Aristotle's works on rhetoric and language were seminal. Simply put, Plato and Aristotle laid the foundation for Western philosophy and thought, and even to this day they remain foundations of knowledge for subsequent philosophers to rely on when forming and refining their own philosophies.
Plato and Aristotle chronicles both philosophers' lives, examines their works in depth, analyzes where they differed, and assesses their enduring legacies. Along with pictures of historic art, you will learn about Plato and Aristotle like you never have before, in no time at all.
