Plato and Aristotle, two philosophers in the 4th century, hold polar views on having a

happy life and philosopy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphael's "School of

Athens", where Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher forms; and Aristotle is pointing down

because he supports the natural sciences.

Firstly, Plato's concept of reality contrasts with Aristotle's concept. Plato's theory of 'ideal

forms' claims that a perfect world exists beyond the world around us. Our world contains forms

imperfectly copied from the ideal forms in the world beyond. According to Plato, most people cannot

see the ideal forms; they only see their representation or their shadows-stating that: "We cannot gain

knowledge of things through our senses because the objects of sense perception are fleeting and

constantly changing.". According to Plato, the most important idea is the 'idea of good.' Knowledge

of good is the object of all inquiry, a goal to which all other things are subordinate. Therefore only

those who love knowledge and contemplate on the reality of things will achieve understanding of the

Plato believed there are four virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance (or self-control) and

comes only through philosophical knowledge.. If an activity is not done for its own sake, then the

'Virtue of intellect' is concerned with the scientific and calculative information a person can

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1300
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)