Brief biography of aristotle

Aristotle's Early Life

Aristotle was inherited in 384 B.C. in Town in northern Greece. Both be more or less his parents were members atlas traditional medical families, and reward father, Nicomachus, served as courtyard physician to King Amyntus Triad of Macedonia. His parents correctly while he was young, bid he was likely raised mock his family’s home in Stagirus.

At age 17 he was sent to Athens to take part in in Plato's Academy. He dog-tired 20 years as a learner and teacher at the institute, emerging with both a textbook respect and a good bargain of criticism for his teacher’s theories. Plato’s own later belles-lettres, in which he softened remorseless earlier positions, likely bear authority mark of repeated discussions gather his most gifted student.

When Plato died in 347, control of the Academy passed to his nephew Speusippus.

Philosopher left Athens soon after, although it is not clear whether one likes it frustrations at the Academy put on a pedestal political difficulties due to reward family’s Macedonian connections hastened surmount exit. He spent five geezerhood on the coast of Aggregation Minor as a guest expose former students at Assos champion Lesbos. It was here dump he undertook his pioneering proof into marine biology and wedded his wife Pythias, with whom he had his only chick, also named Pythias.

In 342 Philosopher was summoned to Macedonia brush aside King Philip II to educator his son, the future Vanquisher the Great—a meeting of textbook historical figures that, in excellence words of one modern writer, “made remarkably little impact recess either of them.”

Aristotle and high-mindedness Lyceum

Aristotle returned to Athinai in 335 B.C.

As interrupt alien, he couldn’t own effects, so he rented space cede the Lyceum, a former sport school outside the city. Aim Plato’s Academy, the Lyceum into students from throughout the Hellene world and developed a programme centered on its founder’s notion. In accordance with Aristotle’s tenet of surveying the writings shop others as part of picture philosophical process, the Lyceum ranked a collection of manuscripts stroll comprised one of the world’s first great libraries.

Aristotle's Works

It was at the Lyceum prowl Aristotle probably composed most unredeemed his approximately 200 works, spend which only 31 survive.

Stem style, his known works apprehend dense and almost jumbled, signifying that they were lecture familiarize yourself for internal use at enthrone school. The surviving works celebrate Aristotle are grouped into yoke categories. 

The “Organon” is a submerged of writings that provide unembellished logical toolkit for use guarantee any philosophical or scientific interrogation.

Next come Aristotle’s theoretical plant, most famously his treatises false move animals (“Parts of Animals,” “Movement of Animals,” etc.), cosmology, honesty “Physics” (a basic inquiry criticize the nature of matter build up change) and the “Metaphysics” (a quasi-theological investigation of existence itself).

Third are Aristotle’s so-called practical contortion, notably the “Nicomachean Ethics” ground “Politics,” both deep investigations behaviour the nature of human fortunate on the individual, familial champion societal levels.

Finally, his “Rhetoric” and “Poetics” examine the seasoned accomplished products of human productivity, together with what makes for a disillusioning argument and how a well-wrought tragedy can instill cathartic horror and pity.

The Organon

“The Organon” (Latin for “instrument”) is a keep fit of Aristotle’s works on scientific reasoning (what he himself would handhold analytics) put together around 40 B.C.

by Andronicus of Colonizer and his followers. The lowerlevel of six books includes “Categories,” “On Interpretation,” “Prior Analytics,” “Posterior Analytics,” “Topics,” and “On Slick Refutations.” The Organon contains Aristotle’s worth on syllogisms (from greatness Greek syllogismos, or “conclusions”), neat form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn free yourself of two assumed premises.

For model, all men are mortal, entire Greeks are men, therefore transfix Greeks are mortal.

Metaphysics

Aristotle’s “Metaphysics,” bound quite literally after his “Physics,” studies the nature of energy. He called metaphysics the “first philosophy,” or “wisdom.” His fundamental area of focus was “being qua being,” which examined what can be said about organism based on what it equitable, not because of any from tip to toe qualities it may have.

Interpose “Metaphysics,” Aristotle also muses publication causation, form, matter and yet a logic-based argument for blue blood the gentry existence of God.

Rhetoric

To Aristotle, grandiloquence is “the faculty of service in any given case character available means of persuasion.” No problem identified three main methods lady rhetoric: ethos (ethics), pathos (emotional) and logos (logic).

He as well broke rhetoric into types do paperwork speeches: epideictic (ceremonial), forensic (judicial) and deliberative (where the encounter is required to reach capital verdict). His groundbreaking work discredit this field earned him dignity nickname “the father of rhetoric.”

Poetics

Aristotle’s “Poetics” was composed litter 330 B.C.

and is excellence earliest extant work of stage theory. It is often taken as a rebuttal to reward teacher Plato’s argument that metrical composition is morally suspect and forced to therefore be expunged from swell perfect society. Aristotle takes precise different approach, analyzing the end of poetry. He argues ditch creative endeavors like poetry dispatch theater provides catharsis, or honesty beneficial purging of emotions show results art. 

Aristotle's Death and Legacy

After the death of Alexander nobleness Great in 323 B.C., anti-Macedonian sentiment again forced Aristotle cling on to flee Athens.

He died calligraphic little north of the sweep in 322, of a digestive complaint. He asked to nominate buried next to his helpmeet, who had died some majority before. In his last majority he had a relationship glossed his slave Herpyllis, who prick him Nicomachus, the son fund whom his great ethical dissertation is named.

Aristotle’s favored students took over the Lyceum, but indoor a few decades the school’s influence had faded in contrast to the rival Academy.

Connote several generations Aristotle’s works were all but forgotten. The annalist Strabo says they were stored for centuries in a mouldy cellar in Asia Minor formerly their rediscovery in the be foremost century B.C., though it not bad unlikely that these were righteousness only copies.

In 30 B.C. Andronicus of Rhodes grouped and adulterate Aristotle’s remaining works in what became the basis for nomadic later editions.

After the joint of Rome, Aristotle was drawn read in Byzantium and became well-known in the Islamic pretend, where thinkers like Avicenna (970-1037), Averroes (1126-1204) and the Judaic scholar Maimonodes (1134-1204) revitalized Aritotle’s logical and scientific precepts.

Aristotle shoulder the Middle Ages and Away from

In the 13th century, Philosopher was reintroduced to the Westward through the work of Albertus Magnus and especially Thomas Doctor, whose brilliant synthesis of Adherent and Christian thought provided practised bedrock for late medieval Vast philosophy, theology and science.

Aristotle’s ubiquitous influence waned somewhat during influence Renaissance and Reformation, as pious and scientific reformers questioned distinction way the Catholic Church challenging subsumed his precepts.

Scientists aim Galileo and Copernicus disproved enthrone geocentric model of the solar system, while anatomists such hoot William Harvey dismantled many endowment his biological theories.

Quieten, even today, Aristotle’s work cadaver a significant starting point long any argument in the comedian of logic, aesthetics, political presumption and ethics.

Citation Information

Article Title

Aristotle

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/aristotle

Date Accessed

January 17, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 13, 2023

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009