Plato and Aristotle possessed two very different concepts of what is ultimately real. Reality for Plato was thought and for Aristotle it was found more within what is physically real, although he also emphasised the thought process. Their understanding of what is ultimately real directly affects how they perceive the world and significantly their conception of science this has impacted thought in science ever since.
Plato's concept of reality was to be attained through understanding the order and natural process through which thought and ideas were perceived .The understanding of this concept of reality, comes from his work entitled ?Republic'. Two examples of his thought process are the analogy of the cave and the analogy of the three beds. In these we can see the development of his concept of reality and his approach to science.
For Plato reality can be broken down into four separate fields or concepts - one good (possibly defined as God); ideas; physical reality; and lastly imagery. Plato perceived that all ideas, physical reality and images were a copy or reflection of the creations of the one good. In regards to these copies and reflections, Plato surmises that (Bowett, Section X) "No wonder, then, that his work too is an indistinct expression of truth". So that absolute truth is found in the over-arching concept or the one good.
The one good, or God as referred to by Plato is the absolute one the level of perfect truth and his comprehension of perfect truth is that all things should come from it and be reflections of it. For Plato in his analogy of the cave, this one truth was represented by the sun. The level of ideas in Plato's view was close to this one truth, as it is from here ideas physical reality and imagery flows. ...