Aristotle and Social Media

Aristotle took a different viewpoint from Plato, who said that universal truths exist apart from things of this world. Aristotle said that the universal can be found in particular things, through extensive study of any given object. And through intense examination and experimentation, one could induce the universal from the specific. He also had a lot to say on the subject of Forms as potentiality and actuality, and this is relevant to our interests. Potentiality is what a thing is capable of doing, if the conditions are right and it is not interfered with. For example, the seed of a plant is potentially a plant, barring adverse conditions acting upon it. And actuality, in turn, is the fulfillment of that potentiality. It is the end, the telos, as Aristotle says. As he stated: “For that for the sake of which a thing is, is its principle, and the becoming is for the sake of the end; and the actuality is the end, and it is for the sake of this that the potentiality is acquired. For animals do not see in order that they may have sight, but they have sight that they may see.”

He believed in forms, as Plato did, but not capital-F Forms. Rather, forms inherent in things, with a potential for development. In each moment, the potentialities of a thing are developed given the situation it is in. As human beings, we act by actualizing potentialities of ourselves in the situation we find ourselves in. That selection of potentialities to actualize Aristotle calls mind. Given how we act and others and things respond, we find ourselves with a new set of potentialities to act from--a new character. Character is the potentialities we have to act from, and thus our characters, or disposition, develop through our actions. Through this actualization of potentialities, humans can find happiness.

He read lots of plays before he wrote the Poetics, and he read lots of books on how to write talks before he wrote the Rhetoric. He summarized those plays and books so well that for years after, people used his summaries rather than reading the actual books. If Plato was first and foremost a poet, Aristotle was first and foremost a researcher, who believed the truth of things would emerge in us by our being in direct contact with them. His ideas of a unified plot begin with artistic representation: showing rather than telling. A good plot should be driven through plot and character development. Ethos (author credibility), pathos (passionate argument), and logos (logical reasoning) all should be present to one degree or another. 

The most important part of a social media website, according to Aristotle, would be the beginning, or the first thing a viewer sees. Just as a good movie should start in the action, a good website should immediately make its purpose apparent. It should tell a viewer what it is good for, what it can help them do, and should bring out a sort of theme at the same time. Additionally, a good website should encourage discussion; a marketplace of ideas, in essence. Therefore, it must also be easily shareable. The purpose of this discussion is so that the website can continue to better itself to service the needs of its users.