Aristotle - Unraveling the Genius Behind Western Thought

Aristotle (384-322), the ancient Greek philosopher and polymath, was born in 384 BCE in Stagira, a Greek colony in Thrace. His father, Nicomachus, was the personal physician to King Amyntas III of Macedon. At the age of seventeen, Aristotle moved to Athens to study at Plato's Academy, where he became a student of Plato for nearly twenty years.

After Plato's death in 347 BCE, Aristotle left Athens and traveled extensively, conducting scientific research and studying natural phenomena. In 343 BCE, he was invited by King Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son, Alexander the Great. Aristotle taught Alexander for several years before returning to Athens in 335 BCE, where he established his own school, the Lyceum, and began teaching and writing extensively.

Aristotle's influence extended across a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, ethics, politics, metaphysics, biology, physics, astronomy, and logic. His contributions to these fields have had a profound and enduring impact on Western thought and scholarship.

Major Works of Aristotle

1. Nicomachean Ethics: One of Aristotle's most famous works, the "Nicomachean Ethics," explores the nature of happiness, virtue, and moral character. In this work, Aristotle discusses the concept of eudaimonia (human flourishing) and the role of virtue in achieving a good life.

2. Politics: In Politics, Aristotle examines the nature of the state and the principles of governance. He discusses various forms of government, including democracy, oligarchy, and monarchy, and evaluates their strengths and weaknesses.

3. Metaphysics: Aristotle's "Metaphysics" explores the fundamental principles and concepts that underlie reality. He discusses topics such as substance, causality, potentiality and actuality, and the nature of being.

4. Physics: In his work "Physics," Aristotle investigates the natural world and the principles of motion, change, and causality. He develops his theories on the four causes (material, formal, efficient, and final) and lays the groundwork for his scientific method.

5. De Anima (On the Soul): Aristotle's "De Anima" examines the nature of the soul and its relationship to the body. He discusses various aspects of the soul, including perception, thought, and emotion, and explores the concept of the intellect.

6. Poetics: In "Poetics," Aristotle analyzes the nature of poetry and drama, including the structure of tragedy and the role of plot, character, and spectacle in literary works.

7. Organon (The Logical Works): Aristotle's "Organon" is a collection of works on logic, including "Categories," "Prior Analytics," "Posterior Analytics," "Topics," and "On Interpretation." These works form the basis of Aristotelian logic and are foundational texts in the history of philosophy.

Aristotle's works have had a profound and lasting impact on Western thought, influencing thinkers across centuries and disciplines. His systematic approach to philosophy and his emphasis on empirical observation and logical analysis laid the groundwork for much of modern science and philosophy. Aristotle's legacy continues to be studied and revered by scholars and philosophers around the world.

Plato | A Greek Philosopher

Plato is the well-known Greek Philosopher and student of Socrates. Socrates considered that unexamined life is not worth living and argues that virtue is knowledge. Plato has influenced by Socrates in pursuit of knowledge against sophists. He influenced the western philosophy than any philosopher. Plato’s interests were broad, including the study of knowledge, mathematics, ultimate reality, ethics, and politics. He thought that ultimate reality of things was given by their ‘forms.’ For Plato, the real world is unchanging, eternal, and beyond our senses. We can understand reality though intellectual study. The aim of philosophy is to get away from the world of sense and desire to the higher realm of existence of the Forms. The form of an object is its essence, and is what makes it what it is. Examples of forms include beauty, justice, numbers, and shapes. We can know about ultimate reality (the world of forms) through the use of our intellect.

Our senses do not tell us much about ultimate reality. For Plato, mathematics is the paradigm of knowledge, since it is done through intellectual reasoning independent of the apparent world around us, and tells us eternal unchanging truths. In The Republic Plato says that the soul has three parts, corresponding to reason, emotion, and desire. He also thinks that the soul (or at least part of it) is immortal, and can be reincarnated. Plato thinks that only those who understand the nature of goodness are fit to rule in society. Most people do not understand goodness. The rulers should try to maximize the happiness of society, by imposing strict censorship of ideas and of artistic expression. He saw no connection between happiness and individual liberty. He wants to show that there is absolute truth, and absolute right and wrong, and that human beings are not the measure of all things.