Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, scientist, and educator who studied at Plato’s Academy. He was concerned with how philosophy applied to subjects such as writing, the arts, science, and logic. Aristotle’s major contributions to philosophy include his work on logic, metaphysics, ethics, and poetics. His work on scientific taxonomy is still used to classify animals. After his death, his writings fell out of circulation for about a century but were rediscovered and widely influential in Byzantine and Arab philosophies. His work continues to influence modern thought.
Aristotle was a famous Greek philosopher, scientist and educator. He was an able student at Plato’s Academy, where Plato often called him “the intellect: of the school. Many of his theories can be seen as drawn from Plato’s teaching, but he was more practical in many respects. Aristotle was more concerned with how philosophy applied to subjects such as writing, the arts, science, and logic.
background
Born in Macedonia in 384 BC, Aristotle’s father was a court physician who died when his son was about ten years old. His mother’s death preceded his father’s, but the exact date is not known. Historians believe that Aristotle’s father would have taught him biology, science and medicine early on, which would form the basis for some of his later works.
His uncle Proxenus, who was a teacher of rhetoric and writing, took care of Aristotle after his parents’ deaths. Since Aristotle was born in Macedonia, he did not speak formal Greek. Proxenus helped him learn the language, as well as writing and rhetoric, which helped prepare him for his later success in Athens. At 18 Aristotle entered Plato’s Academy as a student; he would become a teacher and stay there for the next 19 years. He was thought to be the first choice to run the Academy after Plato’s death; however, Aristotle disagreed with some of Plato’s teachings, and Plato’s nephew was given the job instead.
Aristotle traveled for a while, got married, and was eventually invited to tutor the young Alexander the Great. After Alexander became king of Macedonia, Aristotle returned to Athens and opened his own school, the Lyceum, in 335 BC. When Alexander died and anti-Macedonian sentiments grew in Athens, Aristotle’s association with him made life there dangerous, and he was accused of impiety, as Socrates had been accused before him. Instead of being tried, he fled the country, dying in 322 BC of a stomach ailment.
Contributions to philosophy
One of Aristotle’s major contributions to philosophy was his work on logic, on which he wrote six texts, together called L’Organon. While much of his work was lost for a while, these texts were not. Through them, he has explored the nature of the syllogism, the way logic must proceed to avoid errors, and the nature of writing “clichés,” which can be adapted for the moral use of rhetoric. In all of this, and in all his other works, it is seen that Aristotle loved classification and definition. When before there were no words for a logical phenomenon, he invented them, as he did with the word “syllogism”.
Aristotle appears to have studied marine biology and made extensive notes on animal anatomy and observations. He developed scientific taxonomy which is still used to classify animals, although it has been significantly modified. While there are errors in his understanding of how many natural processes worked, Aristotle was right about others, including how the water cycle works.
In his work on metaphysics, Aristotle attempted to define the causes of the existence of everything that could be observed. He defined different sets of causes and further explored the physical makeup of the universe as a mix of different forms. All objects, he argued, were made of matter, which is their potential, and their form, their current state of being. For example, matter – whether it’s bronze or marble or some other material – is shaped by a sculptor, based on his idea, into a final form: a statue.
In ethics, Aristotle’s best-known work is the Niomachean Ethics which discusses the ways in which people can be virtuous. He believed that a person could not simply study what is good, but must also be good by performing virtuous deeds. He broadly classifies what constitutes virtue, how each virtue compares to other virtues, and what steps one must take to be virtuous.
Aristotle’s Poetics prescribes a method for creative writing, particularly for plays, that would be followed through the Renaissance. Comedy is an imitation of humanity’s worst qualities, while tragedy looks at what is meaningful, with a focus on action. Poetry was said to examine the universal character of things.
The influence of Aristotle
After his death, Aristotle’s school continued to function for some years, but his writings fell out of circulation for about a century. Once rediscovered, however, they spread widely and were particularly influential in Byzantine and Arab philosophies. Aristotle became the focus of serious study by Jewish and Arab philosophers in the 6th century AD. Early Western travelers to Arab countries “discovered” his works, and many of his theories formed the basis of medieval thought and philosophy.
Aristotle’s work continued to influence various disciplines throughout the 19th century. His views on the natural sciences were eventually superseded by other theories, although some of his observations are still valid. While his philosophies no longer have the prominent role they once did, his work is still widely studied and continues to influence modern thought.
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