Plato vs. Aristotle

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AuthorTopic: Plato vs. Aristotle
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
Profile Homepage #0
This is pretty straightforward.

Poll Information
This poll contains 1 question(s). 37 user(s) have voted.

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Slarty vs. DeskDesk vs. SlartyTimeline of ErmarianG4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Apprentice
Member # 6885
Profile #1
I just don't care...

BTW... Hawkwind - are you a fan of your namesake or did you just like the name?

Just wondering because I'm a huge Hawkwind fan.

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May all your hits be crits!
Posts: 23 | Registered: Friday, March 10 2006 08:00
Lifecrafter
Member # 6403
Profile #2
Are you kidding? Comparing who are widely regarded to as the most brilliant Greek thinkers? They were both undoubtedly the the greatest men of their age and it's impossible to say who was greater IMHO.

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??? ??????
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Posts: 883 | Registered: Wednesday, October 19 2005 07:00
By Committee
Member # 4233
Profile #3
Wasn't Hawkwind the prophet in the Ultima series?

[ Wednesday, April 04, 2007 06:28: Message edited by: Drew ]
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
Profile Homepage #4
Although I like space rock in general, I wasn't even thinking about that when I chose the PDN. It was indeed a reference to Hawkwind the Seer, specifically to his role in Ultima IV as seer of the Avatar's virtues.

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Slarty vs. DeskDesk vs. SlartyTimeline of ErmarianG4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Guardian
Member # 6670
Profile Homepage #5
Is it wrong that I started humming the main theme from 'One Must Fall' the moment I saw this thread title?

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[ Wednesday, April 04, 2007 06:41: Message edited by: Dintiradan ]
Posts: 1509 | Registered: Tuesday, January 10 2006 08:00
Shaper
Member # 7420
Profile Homepage #6
Theory of Forms = Garbage

Aristotle had some pretty crazy ideas too but he is still way better than that boy-lover, Plato.

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You lose.
Posts: 2156 | Registered: Thursday, August 24 2006 07:00
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
Profile Homepage #7
Better a boy-lover than a woman-hater.

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Slarty vs. DeskDesk vs. SlartyTimeline of ErmarianG4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 335
Profile Homepage #8
"Aristotle was a mere maker of lists. Plato was a real philosopher." Bonus points to anyone who can recognize the source of the quote, but I don't think I agree. Their philosophies are very different, but I guess I'll give Aristotle bonus points for natural philosophy despite his failure to invent the scientific method.

—Alorael, who also happens to be a big fan of the Poetics, especially the section on comedy. He maintains that it is, in fact, a very avant-garde form of meta-humor.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Apprentice
Member # 6885
Profile #9
quote:
Originally written by Hawkwind:

Although I like space rock in general, I wasn't even thinking about that when I chose the PDN. It was indeed a reference to Hawkwind the Seer, specifically to his role in Ultima IV as seer of the Avatar's virtues.
It's been so long since I've played U4 that I didn't even remember that name from the game. Since the band has been around since the '60s I now have to wonder if Lord British was a Hawkwind fan... ;)

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May all your hits be crits!
Posts: 23 | Registered: Friday, March 10 2006 08:00
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
Profile #10
I picked the second option, as it seemed least judgemental.

... :eek:

Seriously though, in the long string of philosophical improvements, both of these men refined the lens through which we saw the world. Luckily it was a positive refinement in that it encouraged further thinking and scientific exploration.

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quote:
Originally written by Kelandon:

Well, I'm at least pretty sure that Salmon is losing.


Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00
Guardian
Member # 2080
Profile #11
Apparently, not enough people have read "The Alphabet of Manliness"

Otherwise, there wouldn't be a reason for this poll.

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"I don't understand a word you just said. Try speaking American. It's the only language I understand."
Posts: 1918 | Registered: Sunday, October 13 2002 07:00
Agent
Member # 2210
Profile #12
Herodotus was more important than Plato by far. Plato was overrated.

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Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh.

Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight.
Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00
Guardian
Member # 2080
Profile #13
I think the biggest problem with Aristotle comes from the sheer amount of crap people had to go through because of his idiotic theory that stated that 'the universe revolves around the earth'

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"I don't understand a word you just said. Try speaking American. It's the only language I understand."
Posts: 1918 | Registered: Sunday, October 13 2002 07:00
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
Profile #14
quote:
Originally written by LF:

I think the biggest problem with Aristotle comes from the sheer amount of crap people had to go through because of his idiotic theory that stated that 'the universe revolves around the earth'
Yeah. Much worse than the tens of thousands of years during which people had to put up with only worrying about finding food and shelter.

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quote:
Originally written by Kelandon:

Well, I'm at least pretty sure that Salmon is losing.


Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00
Law Bringer
Member # 6489
Profile Homepage #15
Hawkwind is also the name of a character in Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series, for what it's worth.

[ Wednesday, April 04, 2007 17:19: Message edited by: Tyranicus ]

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"You're drinking liquor because you're thirsty? How nasty is your freaking water?" —Lazarus
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Posts: 1556 | Registered: Sunday, November 20 2005 08:00
Guardian
Member # 2080
Profile #16
quote:
Originally written by Spent Salmon:

Yeah. Much worse than the tens of thousands of years during which people had to put up with only worrying about finding food and shelter.
Not seeing the connection here... What does that have to do with people getting burned at the stake? More importantly, what does that have to do with... anything?!

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"I don't understand a word you just said. Try speaking American. It's the only language I understand."
Posts: 1918 | Registered: Sunday, October 13 2002 07:00
...b10010b...
Member # 869
Profile Homepage #17
I just hope this topic doesn't attract any LaRouchies.

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #18
Huh. This topic brings to mind that I am almost totally ignorant of Aristotle's writings. I mean, I know vaguely what they are and when they come from, and I have some vague concept of what they say, but I don't think I've read any of them really at all.

Plato's pretty badass, though. His Apologia in Greek is one of the greatest examples of prose style ever produced. I think most moderns' reactions by the end of it are, "Kill the bastard now," which may not have been exactly what he intended, but it's great nonetheless. :P

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Apprentice
Member # 8406
Profile #19
plato was aristotle's teacher, but he wasn't wise enough to see that aristotle was his greatest student.
Posts: 47 | Registered: Thursday, March 29 2007 07:00
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #20
quote:
Originally written by I'll Steal Your Toast:

Herodotus was more important than Plato by far. Plato was overrated.
I just re-read this line and remembered that I'd like to hear it defended.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Master
Member # 5977
Profile Homepage #21
quote:
Originally written by Malakos the Freshly-Plowed:

quote:
Originally written by I'll Steal Your Toast:

Herodotus was more important than Plato by far. Plato was overrated.
I just re-read this line and remembered that I'd like to hear it defended.

To me it sounds like a joke.

I don't really know both of them. I don't really know any philospher, to be honest, except for Empedocles and Demokritos, of whome I think Demokritos was a brilliant man. However, I general i prefer the Indian philosophers and alchemists. They managed to develop a lot before the Greeks came in (*cough* atom theorie *cough*). It's a pity they never are recognized for what they did, though.

By the way, what's the reason for this poll?

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Give us your drek!
Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00
Lifecrafter
Member # 6388
Profile #22
All parties concerned suck. By providing answers about the nature of reality rooted in supposition, they changed learning from a process of experience to a process of acculturation, a trend which continues to this day in the wank-fests that pass for philosophy and literature departments.

You could literally find a decent existentialist or postmodernist encyclopedia of terms and fly by composing papers on nothing substantial for the rest of your career. Do it for long enough and you'll become a minor figure in the Goddamn canon.

Similarly, by learning enough that you could quote Aristotle (for the sciences) or Plato (for the arts) on anything ipse had dixit, you could fly by without learning anything in the academic circles of Europe. I don't know the situation with Indian or Chinese philosophy, but I can't help but wonder if it's somewhat similar.

The long and short of it is, until a society develops the scientific method, philosophy is useless at best and at worst an impediment to progress. Once you've got enough of it, you don't even have to learn anything.

While Plato and Aristotle did the best they could with what they had, they retarded scientific progress by centuries, maybe millenia, by providing easy answers that meant nothing.
Posts: 794 | Registered: Tuesday, October 11 2005 07:00
Master
Member # 5977
Profile Homepage #23
Wow.

People's way of thinking develops, you know. It took us all the time we had to, to come where we are now. You can start blaming two of the most famous and brilliant people, but this seems just a tad unreasonable to me. You can also blame the church for controlling people's minds in the way they did in the middle ages, but look at it this way: it caused people to think differently in the Renaissance, which helped u get where we are now.

Listen, you can't possibly blame people for acting wrongly in a period of time that was totally different from ours. Try to understand that before you discard brilliant people!

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Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
Profile #24
Plato and Aristotle do seem to share an unwarranted confidence that they are enunciating final answers. That's inevitable, I suppose, in the rush of excitement over learning so much, so fast. Learning that things are harder than they seem was and is a slow and painful process.

And overconfidence in answers were far from easy, but still far easier than the answers that turn out to be needed, was no doubt a major intellectual impediment for a very long time. Even this impediment was surely outweighed, however, by the incentive value of the hope they launched: that humans could understand the world.

To call Plato and Aristotle worthless is just silly. They were truly onto a lot of very important things, and they made excellent first days' marches down a road whose end is still not in sight. Many of their contributions endure, with undiminished value, to this day. Today's natural scientists, far more than post-modernist jabberers, are their heirs.

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Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00

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