Western philosophy Ancient philosophy
Name	Aristotle (Ἀριστοτέλης)
Birth	384 BC Stageira, Chalcidice
Death	322 BC Euboea
School/tradition	Inspired the Peripatetic school and tradition of Aristotelianism
Main interests	Politics, Metaphysics, Science, Logic, Ethics
Notable ideas	The Golden mean, Reason, Logic, Biology, Passion
Influenced by	Parmenides, Socrates, Plato, Heraclitus
Influenced	Alexander the Great, Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Averroes, Albertus Magnus, Maimonides Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Ptolemy, St. Thomas Aquinas, Ayn Rand, Giordano Bruno, and most of Islamic philosophy, Christian philosophy, Western philosophy and Science in general

Aristotle (Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. This page lists some links to ancient philosophy. In Western philosophy, the spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire marked the end of Hellenistic Chalkidiki, also Halkidiki or Chalcidice, less often Khalkidiki and rarely Chalkidice (Χαλκιδική xalkʲiðiˈkʲi is one of the For the mythological figure see Euboea (mythology Euboea ( Modern Greek, Εύβοια - Évia &mdash The Peripatetics were members of a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece. Aristotelianism is a tradition of Philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life In Philosophy, especially that of Aristotle, the golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes one of excess and the other of deficiency Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Parmenides of Elea ( Greek:, early 5th century BC was an Ancient Greek Philosopher born in Elea, a Greek city on the southern coast of SOCRATES is the European Community action programme in the field of Education. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Heraclitus of Ephesus ( Ancient Greek: &mdash grc-Latn ''Hērákleitos ho Ephésios'' English Heraclitus the Ephesian) (ca Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Abū Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Farakh al-Fārābi ( Nastaliq:) or Abū Nasr al-Fārābi TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born Abū 'l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Rushd (Arabicأبو الوليد محمد بن احمد بن رشد better known just as Ibn Rushd (ابن رشد and in European Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 &ndash 8 January 1642 was a Tuscan ( Italian) Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher Claudius Ptolemaeus ( Greek: Klaúdios Ptolemaîos; after 83 &ndash ca Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American Giordano Bruno (1548 – February 17, 1600) was an Italian Philosopher best-known as an early proponent of Heliocentrism and Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between Philosophy ( Reason) and the religious teachings Christian philosophy is a term to describe the fusion of various fields of Philosophy with the theological doctrines of Christianity. Western philosophy is a term that refers to philosophical thinking in the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Events By place Greece Lysias, the Athenian orator on the occasion of the Olympiad, rebukes the Greeks for allowing Events By place Macedonian Empire In Babylon, the struggle for the succession to Alexander the Great develops The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' He wrote on many different subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology. Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Aristotle 's Poetics ( Greek: Ποιητικός, c 335 BCE aims to give an account of what he calls 'poetry' (for him the term includes the Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Zoology (from Greek ζῷον, zoon, "animal" + λόγος, " Logos " "knowledge" is the branch of

Aristotle (together with Socrates and Plato) is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. SOCRATES is the European Community action programme in the field of Education. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Western philosophy is a term that refers to philosophical thinking in the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies He was the first to create a comprehensive system of philosophy, encompassing morality and aesthetics, logic and science, politics and metaphysics. Aristotle's views on the physical sciences profoundly shaped medieval scholarship, and their influence extended well into the Renaissance, although they were ultimately replaced by modern physics. The Greek Philosopher Aristotle ( 384 BC – 322 BC) developed many theories on the nature of Physics that are completely different The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere In the biological sciences, some of his observations were only confirmed to be accurate in the nineteenth century. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, which were incorporated in the late nineteenth century into modern formal logic. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. Mathematical logic is a subfield of Logic and Mathematics with close connections to Computer science and Philosophical logic. In metaphysics, Aristotelianism had a profound influence on philosophical and theological thinking in the Islamic and Jewish traditions in the Middle Ages, and it continues to influence Christian theology, especially Eastern Orthodox theology, and the scholastic tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Aristotelianism is a tradition of Philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. This article covers the influence of Jewish and Islamic philosophy on each other focusing especially on the period from 800-1400 CE Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument Eastern Orthodox Christian theology is the Theology particular to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries 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"), it is thought that the majority of his writings are now lost; it is believed that only about one third of the original works have survived. Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman ^[1]

Life

Aristotle was born in Stageira, Chalcidice in 384 BC. Chalkidiki, also Halkidiki or Chalcidice, less often Khalkidiki and rarely Chalkidice (Χαλκιδική xalkʲiðiˈkʲi is one of the His father was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Amyntas III ( Greek Αμύντας Γ΄) (Unknown - 370 BC son of Arrhidaeus and father of Philip II, was king of Macedon in 393 BC and Aristotle was trained and educated as a member of the aristocracy. Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations At about the age of eighteen, he went to Athens to continue his education at Plato's Academy. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's For the Raphael painting see The School of Athens The Academy (Ἀκαδήμεια was founded by Plato in ca Aristotle remained at the academy for nearly twenty years, not leaving until after Plato's death in 347 BC. He then traveled with Xenocrates to the court of Hermias of Atarneus in Asia Minor. Xenocrates () of Chalcedon (396–314 BC was a Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, and leader (scholarch of the Platonic Academy Hermias of Atarneus was Aristotle 's father-in-law The first mention of Hermias is as a slave to Eubulus, a Bithynian banker who ruled Atarneus. While in Asia, Aristotle traveled with Theophrastus to the island of Lesbos, where together they researched the botany and zoology of the island. Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic Lesbos (Λέσβος also transliterated Lesvos, Midilli is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life Aristotle married Hermias' daughter (or niece) Pythias. Pythias was the (adopted daughter of Hermias of Atarneus and Aristotle 's first wife She bore him a daughter, whom they named Pythias. Soon after Hermias' death, Aristotle was invited by Philip of Macedon to become tutor to Alexander the Great and is said to have disciplined him by whippings. Philip II of Macedon, ( Greek: Φίλιππος Β' ο Μακεδών &mdash φίλος = friend + ίππος = Horse Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ'

After spending several years tutoring the young Alexander the Great, Aristotle returned to Athens. By 335 BC, he established his own school there, known as the Lyceum. This article is about Lyceum as school or as public hall Lyceum can also be short for Lyceum Theatre. 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 Stageira, who bore him a son whom he named after his father, Nicomachus. Herpyllis of Stagira was Aristotle 's mistress after his wife Pythias, died Nicomachus (Νικόμαχος lived c 375 BC, was the father of Aristotle. According to the Suda, he also had an eromenos, Palaephatus of Abydus. The Suda or Souda ( also, Suidas) is a massive 10th century Byzantine Greek historical encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean In the pederastic tradition of Classical Athens, the eromenos ( Greek ἐρώμενος pl Palaephatus (Παλαιφατος is the name of four literary persons in Suidas, who however seems to have confounded different persons and writings ^[2]

It is during this period in Athens when Aristotle is believed to have composed many of his works. Aristotle wrote many dialogues, only fragments of which survived. The works that have survived are in treatise form and were not, for the most part, intended for widespread publication, as they are generally thought to be lecture aids for his students. A treatise is a formal lengthy systematic Discourse on some subject His most important treatises include Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, De Anima (On the Soul) and Poetics. Physics (or "Physica" or "Physicae Auscultationes" meaning "lessons" is a key text in the philosophy of Aristotle. Metaphysics is one of the principal works of Aristotle and the first major work of the branch of philosophy with the same name Nicomachean Ethics (sometimes spelled "Nichomachean" or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on Virtue and Moral character which Aristotle's Politics ( Greek Πολιτικά is a work of Political philosophy. On the Soul ( Greek ( Perì Psūchês) Latin De Anima) is a major treatise by Aristotle on the nature of living things Aristotle 's Poetics ( Greek: Ποιητικός, c 335 BCE aims to give an account of what he calls 'poetry' (for him the term includes the These works, although connected in many fundamental ways, vary significantly in both style and substance.

Aristotle not only studied almost every subject possible at the time, but made significant contributions to most of them. In physical science, Aristotle studied anatomy, astronomy, economics, embryology, geography, geology, meteorology, physics and zoology. Anatomy (from the Greek anatomia, from ana separate apart from and temnein, to cut up cut open is a branch of Biology that is the consideration Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Embryology (from Greek grc ἔμβρυον embryon, "unborn embryo" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the development Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Zoology (from Greek ζῷον, zoon, "animal" + λόγος, " Logos " "knowledge" is the branch of In philosophy, he wrote on aesthetics, ethics, government, metaphysics, politics, psychology, rhetoric and theology. Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective He also studied education, foreign customs, literature and poetry. Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter His combined works constitute a virtual encyclopedia of Greek knowledge. An encyclopedia (or '''encyclopædia''') is a comprehensive written Compendium that contains Information on either all branches of Knowledge It has been suggested that Aristotle was probably the last person to know everything there was to be known in his own time. ^[3] Upon Alexander's death, anti-Macedonian sentiment in Athens once again flared. Eurymedon the hierophant denounced Aristotle for not holding the gods in honor. Eurymedon the hierophant was the representative of Elephsinias Demitras Aristotle fled the city to his mother's family estate in Chalcis, explaining, "I will not allow the Athenians to sin twice against philosophy,"^[4] a reference to Athens's prior trial and execution of Socrates. The trial of Socrates refers to the Trial and the subsequent execution of the Athenian Philosopher Socrates in 399 BC. SOCRATES is the European Community action programme in the field of Education. However, he died in Euboea of natural causes within the year (in 322 BC). Aristotle left a will and named chief executor his student Antipater, in which he asked to be buried next to his wife. In Common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the Testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her Property Antipater ( Greek: Ἀντίπατρος Antipatros; ca 397 BC — 319 BC was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon Some people believe that Aristotle died because Athens thought he had something to do with Alexander the Great's death. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' ^[5]

Logic

Main article: Term logic

For more details on this topic, see Non-Aristotelian logic. In Philosophy, term logic, also known as traditional logic, is a loose name for the way of doing logic that began with Aristotle, and that was dominant The term non-Aristotelian logic, sometimes shortened to null-A, means any non-classical system of logic which rejects one of Aristotle's premises.

Aristotle's conception of logic was the dominant form of logic until 19th century advances in mathematical logic. Mathematical logic is a subfield of Logic and Mathematics with close connections to Computer science and Philosophical logic. Kant stated in the Critique of Pure Reason that Aristotle's theory of logic completely accounted for the core of deductive inference. Immanuel Kant (ɪmanuəl kant 22 April 1724 12 February 1804 was an 18th-century German Philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg

History

Aristotle "says that 'on the subject of reasoning' he 'had nothing else on an earlier date to speak of'". ^[6] However, Plato reports that syntax was devised before him, by Prodikos of Keos, who was concerned by the correct use of words. In Linguistics, syntax (from Ancient Greek grc συν- syn-, "together" and grc τάξις táxis, "arrangement" is the Logic seems to have emerged from dialectics; the earlier philosophers made frequent use of concepts like reductio ad absurdum in their discussions, but never truly understood the logical implications. In classical Philosophy, dialectic (διαλεκτική is controversy the exchange of arguments and counter-arguments respectively advocating Propositions Reductio ad absurdum ( Latin for "reduction to the absurd" also known as an apagogical argument, reductio ad impossibile Even Plato had difficulties with logic; although he had a reasonable conception of a deduction system, he could never actually construct one and relied instead on his dialectic. In classical Philosophy, dialectic (διαλεκτική is controversy the exchange of arguments and counter-arguments respectively advocating Propositions ^[7] Plato believed that deduction would simply follow from premises, hence he focused on maintaining solid premises so that the conclusion would logically follow. In Discourse and Logic, a premise is a claim that is a reason (or element of a set of reasons for or objection against some other claim A conclusion is a Proposition, which is arrived at after the consideration of Evidence, Arguments or Premises Logic Consequently, Plato realized that a method for obtaining conclusions would be most beneficial. He never succeeded in devising such a method, but his best attempt was published in his book Sophist, where he introduced his division method. The Sophist ( Greek: Σοφιστής) is one of the late Dialogues of Plato, which was written much later than the Parmenides ^[8]

Analytics and the Organon

Main article: Organon

What we today call Aristotelian logic, Aristotle himself would have labeled "analytics". The Organon is the name given by Aristotle 's followers the Peripatetics to the standard collection of his six works on Logic. The term "logic" he reserved to mean dialectics. Most of Aristotle's work is probably not in its original form, since it was most likely edited by students and later lecturers. The logical works of Aristotle were compiled into six books in about the early 1st century AD:

1. Categories
2. On Interpretation
3. Prior Analytics
4. Posterior Analytics
5. Topics
6. On Sophistical Refutations

The order of the books (or the teachings from which they are composed) is not certain, but this list was derived from analysis of Aristotle's writings. It goes from the basics, the analysis of simple terms in the Categories, to the study of more complex forms, namely, syllogisms (in the Analytics) and dialectics (in the Topics and Sophistical Refutations). There is one volume of Aristotle's concerning logic not found in the Organon, namely the fourth book of Metaphysics. . ^[9]

Aristotle's scientific method

Plato (left) and Aristotle (right), a detail of The School of Athens, a fresco by Raphael. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece The School of Athens, or it Scuola di Atene in Italian, is one of the most famous Paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael Sanzio, usually known by his first name alone (in Italian Raffaello) (April 6 or March 28 1483 – April 6 1520 was an Italian painter and Aristotle gestures to the earth, representing his belief in knowledge through empirical observation and experience, while holding a copy of his Nicomachean Ethics in his hand, whilst Plato gestures to the heavens, representing his belief in The Forms. Nicomachean Ethics (sometimes spelled "Nichomachean" or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on Virtue and Moral character which Plato 's Theory of Forms asserts that Forms (or Ideas) and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess

For more details on this topic, see Aristotle's theory of universals. Aristotle's theory of universals is one of the classic solutions to the Problem of universals.

Like his teacher Plato, Aristotle's philosophy aims at the universal. In philosophy universalism is a doctrine or school claiming universal facts can be discovered and is therefore understood as being in opposition to Relativism. Aristotle, however, found the universal in particular things, which he called the essence of things, while Plato finds that the universal exists apart from particular things, and is related to them as their prototype or exemplar. In Metaphysics, particulars are one might say identified by what they are not they are not Abstractions not multiply-instantiated --i A prototype is an original type form or instance of something serving as a typical example basis or standard for other things of the same category "Exemplars" directs here For the superpowered comic book team see Exemplars (comics. For Aristotle, therefore, philosophic method implies the ascent from the study of particular phenomena to the knowledge of essences, while for Plato philosophic method means the descent from a knowledge of universal Forms (or ideas) to a contemplation of particular imitations of these. Plato 's Theory of Forms asserts that Forms (or Ideas) and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess For Aristotle, "form" still refers to the unconditional basis of phenomena but is "instantiated" in a particular substance (see Universals and particulars, below). A phenomenon (from Greek φαινόμενoν, pl φαινόμενα - phenomena) is any observable occurrence Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. In a certain sense, Aristotle's method is both inductive and deductive, while Plato's is essentially deductive from a priori principles. Induction or inductive reasoning, sometimes called inductive logic, is the process of Reasoning in which the premises of an argument are believed Deductive reasoning is Reasoning which uses deductive Arguments to move from given statements ( Premises to Conclusions which must be true if the "A priori" redirects here For other uses see A priori. ^[10]

In Aristotle's terminology, "natural philosophy" is a branch of philosophy examining the phenomena of the natural world, and included fields that would be regarded today as physics, biology and other natural sciences. Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles In Science, the term natural science refers to a naturalistic approach to the study of the Universe, which is understood as obeying rules or law of In modern times, the scope of philosophy has become limited to more generic or abstract inquiries, such as ethics and metaphysics, in which logic plays a major role. Today's philosophy tends to exclude empirical study of the natural world by means of the scientific method. Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena In contrast, Aristotle's philosophical endeavors encompassed virtually all facets of intellectual inquiry.

In the larger sense of the word, Aristotle makes philosophy coextensive with reasoning, which he also would describe as "science". Reasoning is the cognitive process of looking for Reasons for beliefs conclusions actions or feelings Note, however, that his use of the term science carries a different meaning than that covered by the term "scientific method". Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena For Aristotle, "all science (dianoia) is either practical, poetical or theoretical" (Metaphysics 1025b25). By practical science, he means ethics and politics; by poetical science, he means the study of poetry and the other fine arts; by theoretical science, he means physics, mathematics and metaphysics. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and

If logic (or "analytics") is regarded as a study preliminary to philosophy, the divisions of Aristotelian philosophy would consist of: (1) Logic; (2) Theoretical Philosophy, including Metaphysics, Physics, Mathematics, (3) Practical Philosophy and (4) Poetical Philosophy. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and

In the period between his two stays in Athens, between his times at the Academy and the Lyceum, Aristotle conducted most of the scientific thinking and research for which he is renowned today. In fact, most of Aristotle's life was devoted to the study of the objects of natural science. Aristotle’s metaphysics contains observations on the nature of numbers but he made no original contributions to mathematics. He did, however, perform original research in the natural sciences, e. g. , botany, zoology, physics, astronomy, chemistry, meteorology, and several other sciences.

Aristotle's writings on science are largely qualitative, as opposed to quantitative. Beginning in the sixteenth century, scientists began applying mathematics to the physical sciences, and Aristotle's work in this area was deemed hopelessly inadequate. His failings were largely due to the absence of concepts like mass, velocity, force and temperature. He had a conception of speed and temperature, but no quantitative understanding of them, which was partly due to the absence of basic experimental devices, like clocks and thermometers.

A green and red Perseid meteor is striking the sky just below the Milky Way in August 2007. The Perseids (ˈpɝsiːɨdz pûr'sē-ĭdz is a prolific Meteor shower associated with the Comet Swift-Tuttle.

His writings provide an account of many scientific observations, a mixture of precocious accuracy and curious errors. For example, in his History of Animals he claimed that human males have more teeth than females. History of Animals (or "Historia Animalium" or "On the History of Animals" is a zoological Natural history text by Aristotle. ^[11] In a similar vein, John Philoponus, and later Galileo, showed by simple experiments that Aristotle's theory that the more massive object falls faster than a less massive object is incorrect. John Philoponus ( ca 490&ndash ca 570 also known as John Grammarian of Alexandria was a Christian and Aristotelian commentator and the author of a considerable Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 &ndash 8 January 1642 was a Tuscan ( Italian) Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher ^[12] On the other hand, Aristotle refuted Democritus's claim that the Milky Way was made up of "those stars which are shaded by the earth from the sun's rays," pointing out (correctly, even if such reasoning was bound to be dismissed for a long time) that, given "current astronomical demonstrations" that "the size of the sun is greater than that of the earth and the distance of the stars from the earth many times greater than that of the sun, then. Democritus ( Greek:) was a pre-Socratic Greek Materialist Philosopher (born at Abdera in Thrace ca The Milky Way (a translation of the Latin Via Lactea, in turn derived from the Greek Γαλαξίας (Galaxias sometimes referred to simply . . the sun shines on all the stars and the earth screens none of them. "^[13]

In places, Aristotle goes too far in deriving 'laws of the universe' from simple observation and over-stretched reason. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking Today's scientific method assumes that such thinking without sufficient facts is ineffective, and that discerning the validity of one's hypothesis requires far more rigorous experimentation than that which Aristotle used to support his laws. Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena

Aristotle also had some scientific blind spots, the largest being his inability to see the application of mathematics to physics. Aristotle held that physics was about changing objects with a reality of their own, whereas mathematics was about unchanging objects without a reality of their own. In this philosophy, he could not imagine that there was a relationship between them. He also posited a flawed cosmology that we may discern in selections of the Metaphysics, which was widely accepted up until the 1500s. From the 3rd century to the 1500s, the dominant view held that the Earth was the center of the universe (geocentrism). In Astronomy, the geocentric model of the Universe is the superseded theory that the Earth is the center of the universe and other

Since he was perhaps the philosopher most respected by European thinkers during and after the Renaissance, these thinkers often took Aristotle's erroneous positions as given, which held back science in this epoch. ^[14] However, Aristotle's scientific shortcomings should not mislead one into forgetting his great advances in the many scientific fields. For instance, he founded logic as a formal science and created foundations to biology that were not superseded (in the West) for two millennia. Moreover, he introduced the fundamental notion that nature is composed of things that change and that studying such changes can provide useful knowledge of underlying constants. This made the study of physics, and all other sciences, respectable. In actuality, however, this observation transcends physics into metaphysics.

Physics

Main article: Physics (Aristotle)

The five elements

Main article: Classical element

• Fire, which is hot and dry. Physics (or "Physica" or "Physicae Auscultationes" meaning "lessons" is a key text in the philosophy of Aristotle. Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. Fire has been an important part of many cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization
• Earth, which is cold and dry. Earth, home and origin of humanity has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition
• Air, which is hot and wet. In traditional cultures air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance
• Water, which is cold and wet. Water has been important to all peoples of the earth and it is rich in spiritual tradition
• Aether, which is the divine substance that makes up the heavenly spheres and heavenly bodies (stars and planets). According to ancient and medieval science, aether (Greek grc αἰθήρ aithēr) also spelled æther or ether, is the material that fills

Each of the four earthly elements has its natural place; the earth at the centre of the universe, then water, then air, then fire. When they are out of their natural place they have natural motion, requiring no external cause, which is towards that place; so bodies sink in water, air bubbles up, rain falls, flame rises in air. The heavenly element has perpetual circular motion.

Causality, The Four Causes

• The material cause is that from which a thing comes into existence as from its parts, constituents, substratum or materials. This reduces the explanation of causes to the parts (factors, elements, constituents, ingredients) forming the whole (system, structure, compound, complex, composite, or combination), a relationship known as the part-whole causation.
• The formal cause tells us what a thing is, that any thing is determined by the definition, form, pattern, essence, whole, synthesis or archetype. It embraces the account of causes in terms of fundamental principles or general laws, as the whole (i. e. , macrostructure) is the cause of its parts, a relationship known as the whole-part causation.
• The efficient cause is that from which the change or the ending of the change first starts. It identifies 'what makes of what is made and what causes change of what is changed' and so suggests all sorts of agents, nonliving or living, acting as the sources of change or movement or rest. Representing the current understanding of causality as the relation of cause and effect, this covers the modern definitions of "cause" as either the agent or agency or particular events or states of affairs.
• The final cause is that for the sake of which a thing exists or is done, including both purposeful and instrumental actions and activities. The final cause or telos is the purpose or end that something is supposed to serve, or it is that from which and that to which the change is. This also covers modern ideas of mental causation involving such psychological causes as volition, need, motivation, or motives, rational, irrational, ethical, all that gives purpose to behavior.

Additionally, things can be causes of one another, causing each other reciprocally, as hard work causes fitness and vice versa, although not in the same way or function, the one is as the beginning of change, the other as the goal. (Thus Aristotle first suggested a reciprocal or circular causality as a relation of mutual dependence or influence of cause upon effect). Moreover, Aristotle indicated that the same thing can be the cause of contrary effects; its presence and absence may result in different outcomes.

Aristotle marked two modes of causation: proper (prior) causation and accidental (chance) causation. All causes, proper and incidental, can be spoken as potential or as actual, particular or generic. The same language refers to the effects of causes, so that generic effects assigned to generic causes, particular effects to particular causes, operating causes to actual effects. Essentially, causality does not suggest a temporal relation between the cause and the effect.

All further investigations of causality will consist of imposing the favorite hierarchies on the order causes, such as final > efficient > material > formal (Thomas Aquinas), or of restricting all causality to the material and efficient causes or to the efficient causality (deterministic or chance) or just to regular sequences and correlations of natural phenomena (the natural sciences describing how things happen instead of explaining the whys and wherefores).

Chance and spontaneity

Spontaneity and chance are causes of effects. Chance as an incidental cause lies in the realm of accidental things. It is "from what is spontaneous" (but note that what is spontaneous does not come from chance). For a better understanding of Aristotle's conception of "chance" it might be better to think of "coincidence": Something takes place by chance if a person sets out with the intent of having one thing take place, but with the result of another thing (not intended) taking place. For example: A person seeks donations. That person may find another person willing to donate a substantial sum. However, if the person seeking the donations met the person donating, not for the purpose of collecting donations, but for some other purpose, Aristotle would call the collecting of the donation by that particular donator a result of chance. It must be unusual that something happens by chance. In other words, if something happens all or most of the time, we cannot say that it is by chance.

There is also more specific kind of chance, which Aristotle names "luck", that can only apply to human beings, since it is in the sphere of moral actions. According to Aristotle, luck must involve choice (and thus deliberation), and only humans are capable of deliberation and choice. "What is not capable of action cannot do anything by chance". ^[15]

Metaphysics

Main article: Metaphysics (Aristotle)

Aristotle defines metaphysics as "the knowledge of immaterial being," or of "being in the highest degree of abstraction. Metaphysics is one of the principal works of Aristotle and the first major work of the branch of philosophy with the same name Immaterialism is the theory propounded by Bishop Berkeley in the 18th century which holds that there are no material objects only minds and ideas in those minds " He refers to metaphysics as "first philosophy", as well as "the theologic science. "

Substance, potentiality and actuality

Aristotle examines the concept of substance (ousia) in his Metaphysics, Book VII and he concludes that a particular substance is a combination of both matter and form. Ousia () is the Ancient Greek noun formed on the feminine present participle of ( to be) it is analogous to the English participle Metaphysics is one of the principal works of Aristotle and the first major work of the branch of philosophy with the same name As he proceeds to the book VIII, he concludes that the matter of the substance is the substratum or the stuff of which it is composed, e. In Contact linguistics, a substratum ( lat sub: under + stratum: layer → lower layer) is a Language g. the matter of the house are the bricks, stones, timbers etc. , or whatever constitutes the potential house. While the form of the substance, is the actual house, namely ‘covering for bodies and chattels’ or any other differentia (see also predicables). A genus-differentia Definition is one in which a word or concept that indicates a species -- a specific type of item not necessarily a biological category -- is described Predicables (Lat praedicabilis that which may be stated or affirmed sometimes called quinque voces or five words) is in scholastic logic, a term applied The formula that gives the components is the account of the matter, and the formula that gives the differentia is the account of the form. ^[16]

With regard to the change (kinesis) and its causes now, as he defines in his Physics and On Generation and Corruption 319b-320a, he distinguishes the coming to be from 1. Physics (or "Physica" or "Physicae Auscultationes" meaning "lessons" is a key text in the philosophy of Aristotle. Περὶ γενέσεως καὶ φθορᾶς lang-la|De Generatione et Corruptione}} also known as On Coming to Be and Passing Away) is a treatise by Aristotle growth and diminution, which is change in quantity 2. locomotion, which is change in space and 3. alteration, which is change in quality. The coming to be is a change where nothing persists of which the resultant is a property. In that particular change he introduces the concept of potentiality (dynamis) and actuality (entelecheia) in association with the matter and the form. See also Aristotle The theory of Potentiality and Actuality is one of the central themes of Aristotle 's Philosophy and Metaphysics. See also Aristotle The theory of Potentiality and Actuality is one of the central themes of Aristotle 's Philosophy and Metaphysics.

Referring to potentiality, this is what a thing is capable of doing, or being acted upon, if it is not prevented by something else. For example, the seed of a plant in the soil is potentially (dynamei) plant, and if is not prevented by something, it will become a plant. Potentially beings can either 'act' (poiein) or 'be acted upon' (paschein), which can be either innate or learned. For example, the eyes possess the potentiality of sight (innate - being acted upon), while the capability of playing the flute can be possessed by learning (exercise - acting).

Actuality is the fulfillment of the end of the potentiality. Because the end (telos) is the principle of every change, and for the sake of the end exists potentiality, therefore actuality is the end. Referring then to our previous example, we could say that actuality is when the seed of the plant becomes a plant.

“ 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. ”^[17]

In conclusion, the matter of the house is its potentiality and the form is its actuality. The formal cause (aitia) then of that change from potential to actual house, is the reason (logos) of the house builder and the final cause is the end, namely the house itself. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking Then Aristotle proceeds and concludes that the actuality is prior to potentiality in formula, in time and in substantiality.

With this definition of the particular substance (i. A definition is a statement of the meaning of a Word or Phrase. In Metaphysics, particulars are one might say identified by what they are not they are not Abstractions not multiply-instantiated --i e. , matter and form), Aristotle tries to solve the problem of the unity of the beings, e. g. , what is that makes the man one? Since, according to Plato there are two Ideas: animal and biped, how then is man a unity? However, according to Aristotle, the potential being (matter) and the actual one (form) are one and the same thing. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece ^[18]

Universals and particulars

Main article: Aristotle's theory of universals

Aristotle's predecessor, Plato, argued that all things have a universal form, which could be either a property, or a relation to other things. Aristotle's theory of universals is one of the classic solutions to the Problem of universals. When we look at an apple, for example, we see an apple, and we can also analyze a form of an apple. In this distinction, there is a particular apple and a universal form of an apple. Moreover, we can place an apple next to a book, so that we can speak of both the book and apple as being next to each other.

Plato argued that there are some universal forms that are not a part of particular things. For example, it is possible that there is no particular good in existence, but "good" is still a proper universal form. Bertrand Russell is a contemporary philosopher that agreed with Plato on the existence of "uninstantiated universals". Bertrand Arthur William Russell 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 was a British Philosopher, Historian

Aristotle disagreed with Plato on this point, arguing that all universals are "instantiated". Aristotle argued that there are no universals that are unattached to existing things. According to Aristotle, if a universal exists, either as a particular or a relation, then there must have been, must be currently, or must be in the future, something on which the universal can be predicated. Consequently, according to Aristotle, if it is not the case that some universal can be predicated to an object that exists at some period of time, then it does not exist.

One way for contemporary philosophers to justify this position is by asserting the eleatic principle.

In addition, Aristotle disagreed with Plato about the location of universals. As Plato spoke of the world of the forms, a location where all universal forms subsist, Aristotle maintained that universals exist within each thing on which each universal is predicated. So, according to Aristotle, the form of apple exists within each apple, rather than in the world of the forms.

Biology and medicine

Empirical research program

Octopus swimming

Torpedo fuscomaculata

Aristotle is the earliest natural historian whose work has survived in some detail. Aristotle did his research on natural history on the isle of Lesbos. Lesbos (Λέσβος also transliterated Lesvos, Midilli is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. The works that reflect this research, including History of Animals, Generation of Animals, and Parts of Animals, contain some remarkable observations and interpretations, along with sundry myths and mistakes. History of Animals (or "Historia Animalium" or "On the History of Animals" is a zoological Natural history text by Aristotle. Generation of Animals (or On the Generation of Animals, or in Latin De Generatione Animalium) is a text by Aristotle. On the Parts of Animals (or De Partibus Animalium) is a text by Aristotle. The most striking passages are about the sea-life visible from observation on Lesbos and available from the catches of fishermen. His observations on catfish, electric fish (Torpedo) and angler-fish are exceptional, as is his writing on cephalopods, molluscs, octopus, sepia (cuttlefish) and the paper nautilus (Argonauta argo). Electric rays (order Torpediniformes) are Fish that have a rounded body and a pair of organs capable of producing an Electric discharge, varying Torpedo is a Genus of Electric rays. Species Genus Torpedo † The cephalopods ( Greek plural (kephalópoda "head-feet" are the Mollusc class Cephalopoda characterized by Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 The Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida belonging to the Cephalopoda class (which also includes Squid, Octopuses The Greater Argonaut ( Argonauta argo) is a Species of Pelagic Octopus belonging to the Genus Argonauta. His description of the hectocotyl arm was about two thousand years ahead of its time, and widely disbelieved until its rediscovery in the nineteenth century. A hectocotylus is one of the arms of the male of most kinds of Cephalopods that is modified in various ways to effect the fertilization of the female's eggs He separated the aquatic mammals from fish, and knew that sharks and rays were part of the group he called Selachē (selachians). Chondrichthyes or cartilaginous fishes are jawed Fish with paired fins paired nostrils scales two-chambered hearts and skeletons made of Cartilage rather ^[19]

Leopard shark

He gave accurate descriptions of ruminants' four-chambered fore-stomachs, and of the unusual mammal-like embryological development of the hound shark Mustelus laevis. Physiologically a ruminant is a Mammal of the order Artiodactyla that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first stomach known ^[20]

Theory of biological being

However, for Charles Singer, "Nothing is more remarkable than [Aristotle's] efforts to [exhibit] the relationships of living things as a scala naturae"^[21] Aristotle's History of Animals classified organisms in relation to a hierarchical "Ladder of Life" (scala naturae), placing them according to complexity of structure and function so that higher organisms showed greater vitality and ability to move. Charles Joseph Singer ( 2 November 1876 - 10 June 1960) was a British historian of science and medicine. The great chain of being or scala naturæ is a classical and western Medieval conception of the order of the universe whose chief characteristic is a strict ^[22]

Aristotle believed that intellectual purposes, i. e. , formal causes, guided all natural processes. Such a teleological view gave Aristotle cause to justify his observed data as an expression of formal design. Teleology ( Greek: telos: end purpose is the philosophical study of design and Purpose. Noting that "no animal has, at the same time, both tusks and horns," and "a single-hooved animal with two horns I have never seen," Aristotle suggested that Nature, giving no animal both horns and tusks, was staving off vanity, and giving creatures faculties only to such a degree as they are necessary. Noting that ruminants had a multiple stomachs and weak teeth, he supposed the first was to compensate for the latter, with Nature trying to preserve a type of balance. ^[23]

In a similar fashion, Aristotle believed that creatures were arranged in a graded scale of perfection rising from plants on up to man, the scala naturae or Great Chain of Being. The great chain of being or scala naturæ is a classical and western Medieval conception of the order of the universe whose chief characteristic is a strict ^[24] His system had eleven grades, arranged according "to the degree to which they are infected with potentiality", expressed in their form at birth. The highest animals laid warm and wet creatures alive, the lowest bore theirs cold, dry, and in thick eggs.

Aristotle also held that the level of a creature's perfection was reflected in its form, but not foreordained by that form.

He placed great importance on the type(s) of soul an organism possessed, asserting that plants possess a vegetative soul, responsible for reproduction and growth, animals a vegetative and a sensitive soul, responsible for mobility and sensation, and humans a vegetative, a sensitive, and a rational soul, capable of thought and reflection. ^[25]

Aristotle, in contrast to earlier philosophers, but in accordance with the Egyptians, placed the rational soul in the heart, rather than the brain. ^[26] Notable is Aristotle's division of sensation and thought, which generally went against previous philosophers, with the exception of Alcmaeon. ^[27]

His analysis of procreation is frequently criticized on the grounds that it presupposes an active, ensouling masculine element bringing life to an inert, passive, lumpen female element; it is on these grounds that Aristotle is considered by some feminist critics to have been a misogynist. Misogyny (mɪˈsɒdʒɪni is hatred (or contemptof women Misogyny is parallel to Misandry — the hatred of men ^[28]

Aristotle's successor: Theophrastus

Frontispiece to a 1644 version of the expanded and illustrated edition of Historia Plantarum (ca. Historia Plantarum is Latin and literally means History of Plants, although in reality it means something closer to "on plants" or "treatise 1200), which was originally written around 200 BC

Main articles: Theophrastus and Historia Plantarum

Aristotle's successor at the Lyceum, Theophrastus, wrote a series of books on botany—the History of Plants—which survived as the most important contribution of antiquity to botany, even into the Middle Ages. Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic Historia Plantarum is Latin and literally means History of Plants, although in reality it means something closer to "on plants" or "treatise This article is about Lyceum as school or as public hall Lyceum can also be short for Lyceum Theatre. Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic Historia Plantarum is Latin and literally means History of Plants, although in reality it means something closer to "on plants" or "treatise Many of Theophrastus' names survive into modern times, such as carpos for fruit, and pericarpion for seed vessel.

Rather than focus on formal causes, as Aristotle did, Theophrastus suggested a mechanistic scheme, drawing analogies between natural and artificial processes, and relying on Aristotle's concept of the efficient cause. Theophrastus also recognized the role of sex in the reproduction of some higher plants, though this last discovery was lost in later ages. ^[29]

The effect of Aristotle on Hellenistic medicine

For more details on this topic, see Medicine in ancient Greece. The first known Greek medical school opened in Cnidus in 700 BC

Following Theophrastus, the Lyceum failed to produce any original work. Though interest in Aristotle's ideas survived, they were generally taken unquestioningly. ^[30] It is not until the age of Alexandria under the Ptolemies that advances in biology can be again found. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια The Ptolemaic dynasty (sometimes also known as the Lagids, from the name of Ptolemy I's father Lagus) was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family

The first medical teacher at Alexandria Herophilus of Chalcedon, corrected Aristotle, placing intelligence in the brain, and connected the circulatory system to motion and sensation. Herophilos, sometimes Latinized Herophilus (335-280 BC was a Greek physician Herophilus also distinguished between skin and arteries, noting that the latter pulse while the former do not. The skin is the outer covering of living tissue of an animal (or plant Arteries are Blood vessels that carry blood away from the Heart. In Medicine, a person's pulse is the throbbing of their arteries. ^[31] Though a few modern atomists such as Lucretius challenged the teleological viewpoint of Aristotelian ideas about life, teleology (and after the rise of Christianity, natural theology) would remain central to biological thought essentially until the 18th and 19th centuries. In Natural philosophy, atomism is the theory that all the objects in the universe are composed of very small indestructible building blocks - Atoms Or stated in Titus Lucretius Carus (ca 99 BC- ca 55 BC was a Roman Poet and Philosopher. Teleology ( Greek: telos: end purpose is the philosophical study of design and Purpose. Natural theology is a branch of Theology based on Reason and ordinary Experience, explaining the gods rationally as part of the physical world In the words of Ernst Mayr, "Nothing of any real consequence in biology after Lucretius and Galen until the Renaissance. Ernst Walter Mayr ( July 5, 1904, Kempten, Germany &ndash February 3, 2005, Bedford Massachusetts U "^[32] (in Europe at least- advancement in the field continued in the Middle East and orient). Aristotle's ideas of natural history and medicine survived, but they were generally taken unquestioningly. ^[33]

Practical Philosophy

Ethics

Main article: Aristotelian ethics

Aristotle considered ethics to be a practical science, i. Aristotle believed that ethical knowledge is not certain knowledge (like Metaphysics and Epistemology) but is general knowledge. Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life e. , one mastered by doing rather than merely reasoning. Further, Aristotle believed that ethical knowledge is not certain knowledge (like metaphysics and epistemology) but is general knowledge. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge He wrote several treatises on ethics, including most notably, Nichomachean Ethics, in which he outlines what is commonly called virtue ethics. Nicomachean Ethics (sometimes spelled "Nichomachean" or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on Virtue and Moral character which Virtue theory is a branch of Moral philosophy that emphasizes character rather than rules or consequences as the key element of ethical thinking

Aristotle taught that virtue has to do with the proper function of a thing. An eye is only a good eye in so much as it can see, because the proper function of an eye is sight. Aristotle reasoned that man must have a function uncommon to anything else, and that this function must be an activity of the soul. Aristotle identified the best activity of the soul as eudaimonia: a happiness or joy that pervades the good life. Eudaimonia ( Greek:) is a classical Greek word commonly translated as ' Happiness ' Aristotle taught that to achieve the good life, one must live a balanced life and avoid excess. This balance, he taught, varies among different persons and situations, and exists as a golden mean between two vices - one an excess and one a deficiency. In Philosophy, especially that of Aristotle, the golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes one of excess and the other of deficiency

Politics

Main article: Politics (Aristotle)

In addition to his works on ethics, which address the individual, Aristotle addressed the city in his work titled Politics. Aristotle's Politics ( Greek Πολιτικά is a work of Political philosophy. Aristotle's Politics ( Greek Πολιτικά is a work of Political philosophy. Aristotle's conception of the city is very organic, and he is considered one of the first to conceive of the city in this manner. ^[34] Aristotle considered the city to be a natural community. Moreover, he considered the city to be prior to the family which in turn is prior to the individual, i. Family denotes a group of People affiliated by consanguinity affinity or co-residence e. , last in the order of becoming, but first in the order of being . He is also famous for his statement that "man is by nature a political animal. " Aristotle conceived of politics as being rather like an organism than like a machine, and as a collection of parts that cannot exist without the other. A machine is any device that uses Energy to perform some activity

It should be noted that the modern understanding of a political community is that of the state. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. However, the state was foreign to Aristotle. He referred to political communities as cities. Aristotle understood a city as a political "partnership" and not one of a social contract (or compact) or a political community as understood by Niccolò Machiavelli. Social contract describes a broad class of republican theories whose subjects are implied agreements by which people form Nations and maintain a Social order Subsequently, a city is created not to avoid injustice or for economic stability , but rather to live a good life: "The political partnership must be regarded, therefore, as being for the sake of noble actions, not for the sake of living together" . This can be distinguished from the social contract theory which individuals leave the state of nature because of "fear of violent death" or its "inconveniences. State of nature is a term in Political philosophy used in Social contract theories to describe the hypothetical condition of humanity before the State 's " ^[35]

Rhetoric and poetics

Main articles: Rhetoric (Aristotle) and Poetics (Aristotle)

Aristotle considered epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry and music to be imitative, each varying in imitation by media, object, and manner. Aristotle 's Rhetoric is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion dating from the fourth century BCE Aristotle 's Poetics ( Greek: Ποιητικός, c 335 BCE aims to give an account of what he calls 'poetry' (for him the term includes the An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation The dithyramb was originally an ancient Greek hymn sung to the god Dionysus. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Mimesis ( μίμησις from μιμεîσθαι) is a critical and Philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings including ^[36] For example, music imitates with the media of rhythm and harmony, whereas dance imitates with rhythm alone, and poetry with language. The forms also differ in their object of imitation. Comedy, for instance, is a dramatic imitation of men worse than average; whereas tragedy imitates men slightly better than average. Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Lastly, the forms differ in their manner of imitiation - through narrative or character, through change or no change, and through drama or no drama. ^[37] Aristotle believed that imitiation is natural to mankind and constitutes one of mankind's advantages over animals. ^[38]

While it is believed that Aristotle's Poetics comprised two books - one on comedy and one on tragedy - only the portion that focuses on tragedy has survived. Aristotle taught that tragedy is composed of six elements: plot-structure, character, style, spectacle, and lyric poetry. ^[39] The characters in a tragedy are merely a means of driving the story; and the plot, not the characters, is the chief focus of tragedy. Tragedy is the imitation of action arousing pity and fear, and is meant to effect the catharsis of those same emotions. Catharsis ( Κάθαρσις) is a Greek word meaning "purification" "cleansing" or "clarification Aristotle concludes Poetics with a discussion on which, if either, is superior: epic or tragic mimesis. He suggests that because tragedy possesses all the attributes of an epic, possibly possesses additional attributes such as spectacle and music, is more unified, and achieves the aim of its mimesis in shorter scope, it can be considered superior to epic. ^[40]

The loss of his works

According to a distinction that originates with Aristotle himself, his writings are divisible into two groups: the "exoteric" and the "esoteric". ^[41] Most scholars have understood this as a distinction between works Aristotle intended for the public (exoteric), and the more technical works (esoteric) intended for the narrower audience of Aristotle's students and other philosophers who were familiar with the jargon and issues typical of the Platonic and Aristotelian schools. Another common assumption is that none of the exoteric works is extant - that all of Aristotle's extant writings are of the esoteric kind. Current knowledge of what exactly the exoteric writings were like is scant and dubious, though many of them may have been in dialogue form. (Fragments of some of Aristotle's dialogues have survived. ) Perhaps it is to these that Cicero refers when he characterized Aristotle's writing style as "a river of gold";^[42] it is hard for many modern readers to accept that one could seriously so admire the style of those works currently available to us. Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman ^[43] However, some modern scholars have warned that we cannot know for certain that Cicero's praise was reserved specifically for the exoteric works; a few modern scholars have actually admired the concise writing style found in Aristotle's extant works. ^[44]

One major question in the history of Aristotle's works, then, is how were the exoteric writings all lost, and how did the ones we now possess come to us?^[45] The story of the original manuscripts of the esoteric treatises is described by Strabo in his Geography and Plutarch in his Parallel Lives. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c Plutarch 's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of ^[46] The manuscripts were left from Aristotle to his successor Theophrastus, who in turn willed them to Neleus of Scepsis. Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic Neleus (Νηλεύς of Scepsis, was the son of Coriscus of Scepsis. Neleus supposedly took the writings from Athens to Scepsis, where his heirs let them languish in a cellar until the first century BC, when Apellicon of Teos discovered and purchased the manuscripts, bringing them back to Athens. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Skepsis (also Scepsis, and in Greek: Σκέψις) was an ancient settlement in Mysia, Asia Minor that is at the present site According to the story, Apellicon tried to repair some of the damage that was done during the manuscripts' stay in the basement, introducing a number of errors into the text. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla occupied Athens in 86 BC, he carried off the library of Apellicon to Rome, where they were first published in 60 BC by the grammarian Tyrranion of Amisus and then by philosopher Andronicus of Rhodes. Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix ( Latin: L•CORNELIVS•L•F•P•N•SVLLA•FELIX (c Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Andronicus of Rhodes (lived c 60 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher from Rhodes who was also the eleventh Scholarch of the Peripatetics

Carnes Lord attributes the popular belief in this story to the fact that it provides "the most plausible explanation for the rapid eclipse of the Peripatetic school after the middle of the third century, and for the absence of widespread knowledge of the specialized treatises of Aristotle throughout the Hellenistic period, as well as for the sudden reappearance of a flourishing Aristotelianism during the first century B. C. "^[47] Lord voices a number of reservations concerning this story, however. First, the condition of the texts is far too good for them to have suffered considerable damage followed by Apellicon's inexpert attempt at repair. Second, there is "incontrovertible evidence," Lord says, that the treatises were in circulation during the time in which Strabo and Plutarch suggest they were confined within the cellar in Scepsis. Third, the definitive edition of Aristotle's texts seems to have been made in Athens some fifty years before Andronicus supposedly compiled his. And fourth, ancient library catalogues predating Andronicus' intervention list an Aristotelean corpus quite similar to the one we currently possess. Lord sees a number of post-Aristotelean interpolations in the Politics, for example, but is generally confident that the work has come down to us relatively intact. Aristotle's Politics ( Greek Πολιτικά is a work of Political philosophy.

As the influence of the falsafa grew in the West, in part due to Gerard of Cremona's translations and the spread of Averroism, the demand for Aristotle's works grew. Gerard of Cremona ( Italian: Gerardo da Cremona; Latin: Gerardus Cremonensis; c Averroism is the term applied to either of two philosophical trends among scholastics in the late 13th century, the first of which was based on the William of Moerbeke translated a number of them into Latin. Willem van Moerbeke, known in the English speaking world as William of Moerbeke (c When Thomas Aquinas wrote his theology, working from Moerbeke's translations, the demand for Aristotle's writings grew and the Greek manuscripts returned to the West, stimulating a revival of Aristotelianism in Europe, and ultimately revitalizing European thought through Muslim influence in Spain to fan the embers of the Renaissance. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly

Legacy

Early Islamic portrayal of Aristotle

Aristotle portrayed in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle as a 15th-century-A. The Nuremberg Chronicle, written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in German translation by Georg Alt is one of the best documented early printed books D. scholar.

It is the opinion of many that Aristotle's system of thought remains the most influential one ever put together by any single mind. According to historian Will Durant, no other philosopher has contributed so much to the enlightenment of the world. William James Durant ( November 5, 1885 &ndash November 7, 1981) was a prolific American popularizer in the fields of History ^[48] He single-handedly founded the sciences of Logic, Biology and Psychology. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and At the opposite pole, Bertrand Russell dismissed much of Aristotle's work as not particularly profound. Bertrand Arthur William Russell 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 was a British Philosopher, Historian ^[49]

The immediate influence of Aristotle's work was felt as the Lyceum grew into the Peripatetic school. The Peripatetics were members of a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece. Aristotle's notable students included Aristoxenus, Dicaearchus, Demetrius of Phalerum, Eudemos of Rhodes, Harpalus, Hephaestion, Meno, Mnason of Phocis, Nicomachus, and Theophrastus. For the 1st century physician of Asia Minor see Aristoxenus (physician. Dicaearchus (or Dicearchus, Δικαίαρχος of Messana, who lived c Demetrius Phalereus (Δημήτριος Φαληρεύς also known as Demetrius of Phaleron (c Eudemus is also the name of a general of Alexander the Great (died 316 BC Harpalus son of Machatas was an aristocrat of Macedon and boyhood friend of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC Hephaestion ( Greek:, alternative spelling "Hephaistion" c Meno is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. Written in the Socratic dialectic style, it attempts to determine the definition of Virtue Mnason of Phocis was the son of Mnaseas who took command of the Phokian army after the death of Phayllus. Nicomachus (Νικόμαχος lived c 325 BC, was the son of Aristotle. Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic (Alexander the Great's tutelage under Aristotle should also be mentioned here, though it is unclear what the influence of this relationship was. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' )

Aristotle is referred to as "The Philosopher" by Scholastic thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas. Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries See Summa Theologica, Part I, Question 3, etc. The Summa Theologica (or the Summa Theologiae or simply the Summa, written 1265 &ndash 1274) is the most famous These thinkers blended Aristotelian philosophy with Christianity, bringing the thought of Ancient Greece into the Middle Ages. Aristotelianism is a tradition of Philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. It required a repudiation of some Aristotelian principles for the sciences and the arts to free themselves for the discovery of modern scientific laws and empirical methods. The medieval English poet Chaucer describes his student as being happy by having

                     At his bedded hed

Twenty books clothed in blake or red

Of Aristotle and his philosophie

The Italian poet Dante says of Aristotle in the first circles of hell,

I saw the Master there of those who know,

Amid the philosophic family,

By all admired, and by all reverenced;

There Plato too I saw, and Socrates,

Who stood beside him closer than the rest. Geoffrey Chaucer (c 1343 – 25 October 1400? was an English author poet Philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and Diplomat. The Divine Comedy

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche has been said to have taken nearly all of his political philosophy from Aristotle. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist ^[50] However implausible this is, it is certainly the case that Aristotle's rigid separation of action from production, and his justification of the subservience of slaves and others to the virtue - or arete - of a few justified the ideal of aristocracy. It is Martin Heidegger, not Nietzsche, who elaborated a new interpretation of Aristotle, intended to warrant his deconstruction of scholastic and philosophical tradition. Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher More recently, Alasdair MacIntyre has attempted to reform what he calls the Aristotelian tradition in a way that is anti-elitist and capable of disputing the claims of both liberals and Nietzscheans. Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (born January 12, 1929 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a philosopher primarily known for his contribution to moral ^[51]

The philosopher novelist, Ayn Rand, commented that in writing Atlas Shrugged the only philosopher to whom she could acknowledge a debt was Aristotle. Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States ^[52]

List of Aristotle's works

Main article: Corpus Aristotelicum

References

Further reading

The secondary literature on Aristotle is vast. The following references are only a small selection.

• Ackrill J. L. 2001. John Lloyd Ackrill FBA ( 30 December 1921 &ndash 30 November 2007) was a Philosopher and Classicist who specialized Essays on Plato and Aristotle, Oxford University Press, USA
• Adler, Mortimer J. (1978). Mortimer Jerome Adler ( December 28, 1902 &ndash June 28, 2001) was an American Aristotelian philosopher Aristotle for Everybody. Aristotle for Everybody Difficult Thought Made Easy (ISBN 0-684-83823-0 is a book written by Mortimer J New York: Macmillan.   A popular exposition for the general reader.
• Bakalis Nikolaos. 2005. Handbook of Greek Philosophy: From Thales to the Stoics Analysis and Fragments, Trafford Publishing ISBN 1-4120-4843-5
• Barnes J. 1995. The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle, Cambridge University Press
• Bocheński, I. M. (1951). Ancient Formal Logic. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company.  
• Bolotin, David (1998). An Approach to Aristotle’s Physics: With Particular Attention to the Role of His Manner of Writing. Albany: SUNY Press. A contribution to our understanding of how to read Aristotle's scientific works.
• Burnyeat, M. F. et al. Myles Fredric Burnyeat CBE (born 1 January 1939) is an English Classicist and Philosopher. 1979. Notes on Book Zeta of Aristotle's Metaphysics. Oxford: Sub-faculty of Philosophy
• Chappell, V. 1973. Aristotle's Conception of Matter, Journal of Philosophy 70: 679-696
• Code, Alan. 1995. Potentiality in Aristotle's Science and Metaphysics, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 76
• Frede, Michael. 1987. Essays in Ancient Philosophy. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
• Gill, Mary Louise. 1989. Aristotle on Substance: The Paradox of Unity. Princeton: Princeton University Press
• Guthrie, W. K. C. (1981). A History of Greek Philosophy, Vol. 6. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP is a Publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534  
• Halper, Edward C. (2007) One and Many in Aristotle's Metaphysics, Volume 1: Books Alpha — Delta, Parmenides Publishing, ISBN 978-1-930972-21-6
• Halper, Edward C. (2005) One and Many in Aristotle's Metaphysics, Volume 2: The Central Books, Parmenides Publishing, ISBN 978-1-930972-05-6
• Irwin, T. H. 1988. Aristotle's First Principles. Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Jori, Alberto. Alberto Jori (born 1965 is an Italian Neo-Aristotelian philosopher 2003. Aristotele, Milano: Bruno Mondadori Editore (Prize 2003 of the "International Academy of the History of Science") ISBN 88-424-9737-1
• Knight, Kelvin. 2007. Aristotelian Philosophy: Ethics and Politics from Aristotle to MacIntyre, Polity Press.
• Lewis, Frank A. 1991. Substance and Predication in Aristotle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Lloyd, G. E. R. 1968. Sir Geoffrey Ernest Richard Lloyd (born 25 January 1933) is a historian of Ancient Science and Medicine at the University of Cambridge. Aristotle: The Growth and Structure of his Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr. , ISBN 0-521-09456-9.
• Lord, Carnes. 1984. Introduction to The Politics, by Aristotle. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
• Loux, Michael J. 1991. Primary Ousia: An Essay on Aristotle's Metaphysics Ζ and Η. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press
• Owen, G. E. L. 1965c. The Platonism of Aristotle, Proceedings of the British Academy 50 125-150. Reprinted in J. Barnes, M. Schofield, and R. R. K. Sorabji (eds. ), Articles on Aristotle, Vol 1. Science. London: Duckworth (1975). 14-34
• Pangle, Lorraine Smith (2003). Aristotle and the Philosophy of Friendship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Aristotle's conception of the deepest human relationship viewed in the light of the history of philosophic thought on friendship.
• Reeve, C. D. C. 2000. Substantial Knowledge: Aristotle's Metaphysics. Indianapolis: Hackett.
• Rose, Lynn E. (1968). Aristotle's Syllogistic. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher.  
• Ross, Sir David (1995). Sir (William David Ross KBE ( 15 April 1877 &ndash 5 May 1971) was a Scottish philosopher known for work in Aristotle, 6^th ed. , London: Routledge.   An classic overview by one of Aristotle's most prominent English translators, in print since 1923.
• Scaltsas, T. 1994. Substances and Universals in Aristotle's Metaphysics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
• Strauss, Leo. "On Aristotle's Politics" (1964), in The City and Man, Chicago; Rand McNally.
• Taylor, Henry Osborn (1922). "Chapter 3: Aristotle's Biology", Greek Biology and Medicine.  
• Veatch, Henry B. (1974). Henry Babcock Veatch Jr ( September 26, 1911 &ndash July 9, 1999) was a twentieth century American Philosopher. Aristotle: A Contemporary Appreciation. Bloomington: Indiana U. Press.   For the general reader.
• Woods, M. J. 1991b. “Universals and Particular Forms in Aristotle's Metaphysics. ” Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy supplement. 41-56

See also

• Aristotelian ethics
• Aristotelian physics
• Aristotelian view of God
• Aristotelianism
• Hylomorphism
• Philia
• Phronesis
• Potentiality and actuality (Aristotle)

External links

Collections of Aristotle's works

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology - primarily in English
• P. Remacle's collection - primarily Greek texts
• Project Gutenberg - English texts
• Tufts University - at the Perseus Project, in both English and Greek
• University of Adelaide - primarily in English
• non-contradiction.com - Aristotle and Aristotelianism Resource

Articles on Aristotle

• The Catholic Encyclopedia (general article)
• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (general article)
• Scholarly surveys of focused topics from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: articles on Aristotle in the Renaissance, Biology, Causality, Commentators on Aristotle, Ethics, Logic, Mathematics, Metaphysics, Natural philosophy, Non-contradiction, Political theory, Psychology, Rhetoric

• This article incorporates material from Aristotle on PlanetMath, which is licensed under the GFDL. Aristotle believed that ethical knowledge is not certain knowledge (like Metaphysics and Epistemology) but is general knowledge. The Greek Philosopher Aristotle ( 384 BC – 322 BC) developed many theories on the nature of Physics that are completely different See also Aristotle The Aristotelian and Neo-Aristotelian views of God have been very influential in Western intellectual history Aristotelianism is a tradition of Philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. Hylomorphism ( Greek hylo-, "wood matter" + -morphism morphē, "form" is the philosophical theory Philia (φιλíα in Aristotle 's Nicomachean Ethics is usually translated as ' Friendship ' though in fact his use of the term is rather broader Phronesis ( Greek: φρόνησις in Aristotle 's Nicomachean Ethics is the virtue of moral thought usually translated "practical wisdom" See also Aristotle The theory of Potentiality and Actuality is one of the central themes of Aristotle 's Philosophy and Metaphysics. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Perseus Project is a Digital library project of Tufts University that assembles digital collections of Humanities resources English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP is a freely-accessible Online encyclopedia of Philosophy maintained by Stanford University. PlanetMath is a free, collaborative online Mathematics Encyclopedia.