A Reflection on the Relationship between Beauty and Goodness in the Philosophies of Plato and Aristotle

Document Type : Original Article

Author

• Mohammad Razmgah

PhD student of comparative philosophy of Shahid Motahari University

10.22067/epk.2025.86328.1305

Abstract

The concept of beauty and fine arts and its relation to valuable and sublime concepts such as goodness and utility has long been of interest to ancient Greek thinkers, and many efforts have been made to express a comprehensive and complete definition of the concept of beauty. However, a certain definition of beauty could never be achieved due to the difficulties and complexities. What made these thinkers wonder about beauty and its precepts from the very beginning was its relation to imitation and representation of real objects. Therefore, many efforts were made to explain the relation of beauty to reality and the natural world. On the other hand, attempts were made by thinkers to examine the concept of goodness as a principle that gives value to man in all aspects of his life. Plato was the first who systematically presented a philosophical thought about beauty and art and tried very hard to obtain a definition of the concept of beauty and explain its relation to the concepts of goodness and utility. After him, Aristotle dealt with beauty and the types of fine arts and tried to determine the position of beauty and art and its purpose with regard to knowledge and its relationship to reality as well as the concepts related to goodness and virtue. This article attempts to comparatively examine the views of these two great thinkers on beauty and its relationship to the concept of goodness.

Keywords

• Plato
• beauty
• goodness
• utility
• virtue
• Aristotle
• proportion

Main Subjects

• Islamic Philosophy and Kalam

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References

Aristotle. (2011). Poetics. Trans. by S. H. Butcher. The Internet Classics Archive.

Heath, J. (2006). The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. Basic Book.

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