PHILOSOPHY PROJECT
PLATO AND ARISTOTLE: A DIALOGUE
THE SCENE
Plato and Aristotle are going to celebrate International Philosophers
Day with a bar-b-q picnic. At the grocery store they both agree a
watermelon will make a nice desert. As they go through the box of
melons you over hear the following discussion between the two men.
DIALOGUE
Plato: There are the melons, let’s find a good one.
Aristotle: Good? I intend to find a perfect melon for the picnic.
Plato: Oh please, not this again?! Haven’t I told you that nothing
perfect exists in this world. What we are seeing are merely
shadows of eternal forms. Only in the world of ideas does one find
perfection! Never in the substance.
Aristotle: Oh stop all this dualism nonsense…really!! Any
substance takes on the properties of form, so stop all this talk.
Nobody understands what the heck you mean by “realm” anyway.
Besides, there are lots of perfect forms in this world, thousands
according to my categorizing.
Your task is to construct the remaining discussion. You may place
the characters in subsequent scenes or have them remain in the
grocery store. Illustrate (explain or make their discussion clear by
using examples in the dialogue) by use of other bar-b-q and picnic
items as examples the issues/themes/main points that the
philosophers taught about the italicized/bold words in the
discussion.
(see next page for project requirements)
Requirements For Project:
1. Cover page with a clever title and a picture (drawn or taken
from the internet) of each philosopher. (Also include names of
each student at bottom, right-hand side)
2. Typed dialogue
3. Bibliography (if you consult any books or internet sites; titles
and web addresses are sufficient)