Aristotle

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For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation).
Aristotle
Aristotle Altemps Inv8575.jpg
Roman copy in marble of a Greek bronze
bust of Aristotle by Lysippus, c. 330 BC.
The alabaster mantle is modern.
Born 384 BC
Stagira,
Chalcidice (Chalkidiki),
Chalcidian League,
Northern Greece
Died 322 BC (aged 62)
Euboea, Greece, Macedonian Empire
Era Ancient philosophy
Region Western philosophy
School
Peripatetic school
Aristotelianism
Main interests
Biology Zoology
Physics Metaphysics
Logic Ethics Rhetoric
Music Poetry Theatre
Politics Government
Notable ideas
Golden mean
Aristotelian logic
Syllogism
Hexis
Hylomorphism
Theory of the soul
Influences[show]
Influenced[show]
Aristotle ('r??st?t?l;[1] Greek ???st?t????, pronounced [aristotl??s],
Aristotles; 384322 BC)[2] was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in
the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His
father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, whereafter Proxenus of
Atarneus became his guardian.[3] At seventeen or eighteen years of age, he joined
Plato's Academy in Athens[4] and remained there until the age of thirty-seven (c.
347 BC). His writings cover many subjects including physics, biology, zoology,
metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric,
linguistics, politics and government and constitute the first comprehensive
system of Western philosophy. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and,
at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored Alexander the Great beginning in
343 BC.[5]

Teaching Alexander the Great gave Aristotle many opportunities and an abundance of
supplies. He established a library in the Lyceum which aided in the production of
many of his hundreds of books, which were written on papyrus scrolls.[6] The fact
that Aristotle was a pupil of Plato contributed to his former views of Platonism,
but, following Plato's death, Aristotle immersed himself in empirical studies and
shifted from Platonism to empiricism.[7] He believed all peoples' concepts and all
of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. Aristotle's views on natural
sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works.

Aristotle's views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their

influence extended from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the
Renaissance, and were not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and
theories such as classical mechanics. Some of Aristotle's zoological observations,
such as on the hectocotyl (reproductive) arm of the octopus, were not confirmed or
refuted until the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known formal study
of logic, which was incorporated in the late 19th century into modern formal logic.

In metaphysics, Aristotelianism profoundly influenced Jewish and Islamic

philosophical and theological thought during the Middle Ages and continues to
influence Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and
the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. Aristotle was well known among
medieval Muslim scholars, and has been revered as The First Teacher
(Arabic ?????? ???????).

His ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern
advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotle's philosophy continue to be the
object of active academic study today. Though Aristotle wrote many elegant
treatises and dialogues Cicero described his literary style as a river of gold[8]
it is thought that only around a third of his original output has survived.[9]

Contents [hide]
1 Life
2 Thought
2.1 Logic
2.1.1 History
2.1.2 Analytics and the Organon
2.2 Aristotle's epistemology
2.3 Geology
2.4 Physics
2.4.1 Five elements
2.4.2 Motion
2.4.3 Causality, the four causes
2.4.4 Optics
2.4.5 Chance and spontaneity
2.5 Metaphysics
2.5.1 Substance, potentiality and actuality
2.5.2 Universals and particulars
2.6 Biology and medicine
2.6.1 Empirical research program
2.6.2 Classification of living things
2.6.3 Successor Theophrastus
2.6.4 Influence on Hellenistic medicine
2.7 Psychology
2.7.1 Memory
2.7.1.1 Recollection
2.7.2 Dreams
2.7.2.1 Sleep
2.7.2.2 Theory of dreams
2.8 Practical philosophy
2.8.1 Ethics
2.8.2 Politics
2.8.3 Rhetoric and poetics
2.9 Views on women
3 Loss and preservation of his works
4 Legacy
4.1 Later Greek philosophers
4.2 Influence on Byzantine scholars
4.3 Influence on Islamic theologians
4.4 Influence on Western Christian theologians
4.5 Post-Enlightenment thinkers
5 List of works
6 Eponyms
7 See also
8 Notes and references
9 Further reading
10 External links
Life

School of Aristotle in Mieza, Macedonia, Greece

Aristotle, whose name means the best purpose,[10] was born in 384 BC in Stagira,
Chalcidice, about 55 km (34 miles) east of modern-day Thessaloniki.[11] His father
Nicomachus was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Aristotle was
orphaned at a young age. Although there is little information on Aristotle's
childhood, he probably spent some time within the Macedonian palace, making his
first connections with the Macedonian monarchy.[12]

Aristotle by Francesco Hayez (17911882)

Portrait bust of Aristotle; an Imperial Roman (1st or 2nd century AD) copy of a
lost bronze sculpture made by Lysippos
At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his
education at Plato's Academy.[13] He remained there for nearly twenty years before
leaving Athens in 34847 BC. The traditional story about his departure records that
he was disappointed with the Academy's direction after control passed to Plato's
nephew Speusippus, although it is possible that he feared anti-Macedonian
sentiments and left before Plato died.[14]

Aristotle then accompanied Xenocrates to the court of his friend Hermias of

Atarneus in Asia Minor. There, he traveled with Theophrastus to the island of
Lesbos, where together they researched the botany and zoology of the island.
Aristotle married Pythias, either Hermias's adoptive daughter or niece. She bore
him a daughter, whom they also named Pythias. Soon after Hermias' death, Aristotle
was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander in 343
BC.[5]

Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During that
time he gave lessons not only to Alexander, but also to two other future kings
Ptolemy and Cassander.[15] Aristotle encouraged Alexander toward eastern conquest
and his attitude towards Persia was unabashedly ethnocentric. In one famous
example, he counsels Alexander to be a leader to the Greeks and a despot to the
barbarians, to look after the former as after friends and relatives, and to deal
with the latter as with beasts or plants.[15]

By 335 BC, Aristotle had returned to Athens, establishing his own school there
known as the Lyceum. Aristotle conducted courses at the school for the next twelve
years. While in Athens, his wife Pythias died and Aristotle became involved with
Herpyllis of Stagira, who bore him a son whom he named after his father,
Nicomachus. According to the Suda, he also had an eromenos, Palaephatus of Abydus.
[16]