Abstract

This paper is an attempt to compare Plato and Aristotle with respect to their approach of both politics and tragic poetry. The paper argues that Plato approaches both topics in terms of a solitary contemplation or speculation which ultimately is the exclusive privilege of the philosopher, whereas Aristotle approaches them in terms of the ability everyone has to judge situations affecting human interaction. As a result of the first approach the specialized activity of the expert is put on a higher level than the activity of praxis understood as a sharing of words and deeds among peers. On the contrary, in the second approach praxis is taken to be higher than any specialized production