Ciência e Saber. A Importância da Concepção Platônica da Natureza da Episteme em Aristóteles

The influence of Plato’s thought on his most important disciple does not raise doubts. In spite of that, it is not so easy to identify precise elements which reveal such an authority, especially in the field of ontology. On the contrary, appearances show metaphysical systems distinct enough to initiate, in the course of history, opposite philosophical currents. Even so, Plato’s influence on Aristotle is undeniable with respect to the question of the nature of knowledge. About this topic, the Stagirite uses not only an important part of the vocabulary found in some Platonic dialogues, but he also refers to realities very similar to those presented by his Master. The main object of this paper is precisely to highlight such correspondence between our protagonists regarding the issue of the essence of knowledge. To reach this objective, we begin our analysis by examining Plato’s Theaetetus, in which significant explanation on this subject are found. The study of two other dialogues completes our analysis since they add new information. Afterwards, we investigate Aristotle’s Categories, in which there are important data on the question of the nature of knowledge. At last, we complete our study by analysing in De anima some metaphysical elements essential for our subject.