Plato and Aristotle were Greek - Free Essay Example

Plato and Aristotle were Greek philosophers who lived between 428-347BC and 384-322BC respectively. They were legends who looked at life differently. Aristotle was a student of Plato and Plato was a student to Socrates. Platos main subscription on Knowledge was that we get to learn from someone who is wise because knowledge is not accessible to all equally (prenatal knowledge). Aristotle held to the belief that we can learn all that we need by observing the world around us (induction). The two views become more distinct when applied to the world of science, ethics, philosophy and politics.(Schtrumpf, 2013). With Plato, we will see his theories regarding The Divided Line, The Allegory of the Cave, and The Simile of the Sun. With Aristotle, we will be viewing his theories involving The 10 Categories, The significance of Substance, and the 4 Causes. Lastly, we will also be comparing and contrasting the philosophers on metaphysics and axiology. Plato divides the knowledge into four quadrants, each two forming two major classifications. These epistemic states are the visible realm and the other, the intellectual realm. Diving further the intellectual realm we get intelligence and mathematical reasoning. These two form knowledge. The visible realm which comprises of belief (pistis) and illusion of shadows forms our opinion. An interpretation of this theory is the moral epistemology of how we know what to do individually and in public, general, and at particular given moments. We turn away from doing that which is right because of our human flaws. Otherwise, we should be properly led by morals, religion, mathematical skills of apprehension and logic. (Cornford, 2013) The Allegory of The Cave is perhaps the most famous of Platos works. He compared the effect of education to lack of it on nature. Plato believed that in order to attain genuine knowledge, we need to go beyond the changing world of day-to-day particulars and grasp the timeless and unchanging universals of which objects are imperfect instances.(Cottingham, 69). In the Republic, the people are enclosed in a cave with no access to the outside world. As they light their fires, they can only look at the shadows on walls with wonder. They will have lengthy debates on these shadows in an effort to understand nature, only to a limited view. Once they discover the outside world, the explosive view becomes overwhelming as they get to see the true nature and color of what they had as shadowy figures(phantoms). On getting back, the enlightened view the rest as deluded and there rises a sharp conflict. Thats how different levels of knowledge make others look less useful. It becomes increasingly dangerous to reprove those in the cave with much light youre having. The only solution is first rallying the news of the new light to the masses and acting like you dont know much, with patience. (Andersen, 2104) In the SImile of The Sun, The Republic Book 6 of Plato, he postulates that we need an extra sense to be able to see others senses. The sun illuminates other things for us to be able to see them. Intellectual training is very important in the learning process. Then, will only useful things prove to be beneficial. The sun is the form of the good, the eyes equals to the mind, sight to knowing, and visible things to intelligible things. In dim light we never get to see well because we learn of the good things like truth in brightly light conditions. Trying to know things far from the right, we are likened to the dark conditions. In the book Categories, Aristotle suggests that all the said things in life can be divided into ten categories: substance (e.g. a table), quantity (the table has four legs), quality (the table is yellow), relation (the table is raised than the chair), place (the table is in the office), time (the table was made last month), position (the table is up-right), or habits (the table has four legs), action (the table bears a heavy load) and affection (the table will be crashed by a huge load). The subject comprises of the predicate itself. And if this predicate exists in the body of the subject, it will be classified as quantity. The nature of existence if it be like flowing from form, it qualifies to be called quality. Else, if the existence in relation to another is in the substance, the predicate is relation category. The theory is all about recognizing objects through dissimilarity representation. Aristotle also talks about his belief in substances. He says substances are ultimate things making up the universe. Just as the species in which the things primarily called substances are called secondary substances, as also are the genera of these species(Cottingham, 76) These substances are the concrete things in the universe caused to exist by the abstract things which he called accidents. E.g. a ball (substance) when kicked (action is the accident) will start to exist somewhere. We all believe in this substance, for failure to, is equivalent to as saying things do not exist in nature. It is a deep and wide philosophy which needs lengthy periods to fully digest before you can start disputing. (Prior, 2016). The 4 Causes include his theory of metaphysics and has four states: material, formal, efficient, and final causes. The material cause is the fundamental actual properties of a thing, the formal cause is the design part, the efficient cause is the actual force that makes something to exit and the final cause is the ultimate purpose of existence of something. Aristotle believed Causes of it as a statue; but they are not causes in the same way, since one is the material cause, and the other the efficient cause which is the source of the change.(Cottingham, 414). One cause is an end and another cause is the source of change. When it comes to metaphysics, the two Greek philosophers had telling similarities. Both agreed to the fact that knowledge exists of only real things. The senses which help us to develop an experience in our world make it real and knowledge can only be defined of something which does not keep on changing. The senses make the world to be varying. (Scolnicov, 2013) On ethics, Aristotle believed that we need to be just good people, the right actions will follow effortlessly. Also, he argued consistently that living in accordance with virtue was the key to achieving eudaimonia, happiness or fulfillment. (Cottingham, 492). We are built with a desire to be virtuous, not through the influence of God. Plato believed that happiness is a condition of the soul which can be attained by training. Arts imitative function promotes disdain and content in Plato and curiosity for Aristotle. The value of art in our society is portrayed by Aristotle great with the world being in parts meant for observation and scrutiny. Plato believed poets are a manufacturer of images and are very far removed from the truth.(Cottingham, 699). Aristotle differs with Plato on human condition with respect to new knowledge. Whereas Plato advocates for different limitations of perception based on where you are and the exposure you have, Aristotle is a naturalist claiming that knowledge needs not varying natures. Everything can be known by observing the world around us. (Hughes, 2013). Plato claims that intellectual concepts of perfect objects needed for a prior knowledge cannot be gained from experience. Aristotle was convinced that intellectual concepts needed for a prior knowledge cannot be gained from experience, by abstraction on the soul. In conclusion, the two philosophies are correct depending on how you are viewing life. Platos illustration of human conditions in relation to knowledge is so deep that Aristotles explanation seems to form a part of what Plato was teaching. One seems to be knowing all, till they find more light and start considering the previous knowledge as primitive, a stepping stone to the future learning.

Strategic Management of Human Assets - 550 Words

Strategic Management of Human Assets (Research Paper Sample) Content: Strategic Management of Human Assets Name of student Name of instructor Name of institution Course Date due Strategic Management of Human Assets Human resource is an integral component of any organisation. In essence, organisations are not simply measured in terms of how sophisticated their infrastructures are, but how strategic with regard to human capital. Yet in an age faced with the uncharted market economy, organisations have no option but to search for and nurture talent to be able to competent in the liberalised market. So, training and development is what human resource is all about, to improve organisation's skills, knowledge and performance using different learning methods. Training is mostly associated with improving one's working skills, knowledge and general techniques. While human resource development tends to deviate away from conventional work related issues and instead tries to improve one's performance by looking at a person as a whole including fulfilling one's goals. Thus one is able to work more effectively without external interferences. Training is viewed to be more generalised and is mostly carried out in groups or seminars and tend to target the organisation as a whole. Much as human resource development targets to enhance an employees career growth, it also creates an enabling environment where one is able to improve his/her performance. Once the working skills and knowledge have been imparted through training, development of a person involves identification of one's potential and helping the individual achieve them. In training and developing a person, it involves identifying one's potential, looking at the job requirements and aligning them with one's strength and capabilities (Galloway, 2008). Once this has been done it will be much easier to train the person on those skills in relation to their interests. Using the case study as an example, the second interviewee had specialised in engineering, had good grades and enjoyed camping. It would be more appropriate for him to develop his skills in a more enabling environment like the country side than in the city setting. In designing a training program different processes are involved: first one should evaluate the job and agree on the training needs. This will involve carrying out analysis to identify what areas need shaping of skills or knowledge. This is mostly done when carrying out a performance appraisal. This should not be judgemental instead it should be carried out with the aim of determining one's performance in order to work on their weak points and strengthen their strong points (Kris, 2009). Thus the organisation's goals or targets, work integrity and ethics should be put in mind to avoid victimisation of individuals. This also involves looking at the job description and requirements in identifying weak areas. The employee turnover is also looked at to identify the various reasons for employees leaving. Havin g sited training/development areas, the next step is designing it. The requirements for training should be specified...