Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) was one of the most important Greek philosophers and the main representative of the third phase of the history of Greek philosophy “the systematic phase”.
He wrote a series of works that spoke about politics, ethics, morals and other fields of knowledge and was professor of Alexander the Great (356 BC-323 BC)
Biography of Aristotle
Aristotle was born in Stagira, Macedonia, in 384 BC At the age of 17, he left for Athens and started attending Plato’s Academy. Because of the place of his birth, the author is commonly called “the Stagirite”.
Of aristocratic origin, he caused admiration for his refined behavior and intelligence. He soon became the master’s favorite disciple, who observed:
“My Academy is made up of two parts: the student body and Aristotle’s brain.”
With Plato’s death in 347 BC, the brilliant and famous student considered himself the master’s natural substitute in the direction of the Academy. However, he was rejected and replaced by a born Athenian.
Disappointed, he left Athens and left for Atarneus, in Asia Minor – then Greek. He was a state advisor to a former colleague, the political philosopher Hermias.
He married Pitria, Hermias’ adopted daughter, but when the Persians invaded the country and killed their ruler, he was left without a country again.
In 343 BC, he was invited by Philip II of Macedonia to tutor his son Alexander. The king wanted his successor to be an exquisite philosopher. Thus, as a preceptor in the Macedonian court for four years, he had the opportunity to continue his research and develop many of his theories.
When he returned to Athens in 335 BC, Aristotle decided to found his own school called Lyceum because it was located in the building dedicated to the god Apollo Lycian.
In addition to the technical courses for the disciples, he taught the people in general. At the Lyceum, geometry, physics, chemistry, botany, astronomy, mathematics, etc. were studied.
In 323 BC, with the death of Alexander the Great , king of Macedonia, who then dominated Greece, Aristotle was accused of having supported the despot government and decided to abandon Athens again.
A year later, in 322 BC, Aristotle died in Chalcis, in Evia. In his will he determined the liberation of his slaves.
Aristotle’s influence on the development of Philosophy in the Western world was enormous, notably in the Christian Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas during the Middle Ages. Its influence is still felt today.
Plato and Aristotle
Aristotle often objected to his master Plato’s idealism .
For Plato, there are two categories of beings: the sensitive world (appearance) x the intelligible world (essence). Thus, no concrete object would be able to represent itself in its entirety. Only the idea would ensure the secure knowledge that would be accessed by the intellect, for the reason.
In turn, Aristotle claimed that there was only one world. The big difference was how we know this world, because we will capture it through the senses and the intellect.
He creates the concept of substance by stating that there is no such thing as an object and said object.
In turn, Aristotle claimed that there was only one world. The big difference was how we know this world, because we will capture it through the senses and the intellect.
For example:
Think of a chair. If we ask this question to ten people, surely each person will imagine a different chair.
Plato would say that it would not be possible to understand the “chair” through a concrete object, as there are several differences between them. Only the idea of ”chair” would guarantee us the existence of that object.
For his part, Aristotle would claim that it was possible to overcome the abstract idea and know the chair through characteristics such as the material, the shape, the origin and the purpose of an object.
The Stagirite (Aristotle) expressed the opinion that all objects in Nature were in constant motion. For the first time, he classified the types of movement, reducing them to three fundamental ones: birth, destruction and transformation.
Aristotle’s Main Ideas
Aristotle’s philosophy encompasses the nature of God (Metaphysics), man (Ethics) and the State (Politics).
Aristotelian Metaphysics
Metaphysics was a term used by one of Aristotle’s disciples, Andronicus of Rhodes, to classify Aristotelian texts designed to study the relationship of beings and their essences, in addition to physical relationships (meta means “beyond”).
Aristotle claimed that the first philosophy (metaphysics) dealt with the investigation of “being while being”.
For Aristotle, God is not the Creator, but the engine of the universe. God cannot be the result of any action, he cannot be the slave of any master.
He is the source of all action, the master of all masters, the instigator of all thought, the first and last Engine of the World.
Aristotle deals with the following principles:
- Identity – A proposition is always itself;
- Non-contradiction – A proposition can only be false or true and not both;
- Third excluded – There is no third hypothesis for a proposition: only false and true.
In addition, it suggests the four causes for the existence of things:
- Material cause – indicates what the thing is made of;
- Formal cause – indicates the shape of the thing;
- Efficient cause – indicates what gives rise to the thing;
- Final cause – indicates the function of the thing.
Eudaimonia, ethical happiness in Aristotle
According to Aristotle everything tends to the good, because the good is the end of all things.
He adds that there are two ways to achieve good. One through practical activities, including ethics and politics, the other through productive activities, including arts and techniques.
According to Aristotelian thought, happiness (eudaimonia) is man’s only goal. And if to be happy, it is necessary to do good to others, then man is a social being and, more precisely, a political being. Indeed, it is up to the State to “ guarantee the welfare and happiness of its governed” .
The pursuit of happiness would be a natural end for human beings. Happiness is an end in itself, (being happy is the goal of happiness itself) human beings seek the good life, just and happy.
For this, it is necessary to seek the fair means, prudence and practical knowledge capable of leading the individual on the virtuous path to good.
The human being as a political animal
Like Plato, Aristotle wrote in a period of profound crisis in slavery democracy.
He was concerned with forms of government, considering Monarchy , Aristocracy and Democracy to be legitimate . He wrote a long treatise ” The Politics ” where he analyzed the political regimes and the forms of the State.
The Stagirite claimed that the city (polis) was prior to the individual and that this could only be realized through life in society, through political activity.
Etymologically, the word politics is derived from the word polis which means “city”. The word, originally, would designate “the proper activity of the polis”.
For Aristotle, human beings are political beings, or rather, they are political animals ( zoon politikon ), as he defined.
Aristotle’s Works
- Logic – “About Interpretation”, “Categories”, “Analytical”, “Topics”, “Sophisticated Listings” and the 14 books of “Metaphysics”, which Aristotle called “Prima Filosofia”. These works are known together as ” Organon “;
- Philosophy of Nature – “About Heaven”, “About Meteors”, eight books of “Physics Lessons” and other treatises on the history and life of animals;
- Practical Philosophy – “Ethic to Nicoman”, “Ethics to Eudemo”, “Politics”, “Athenian Constitution” and other constitutions;
- Poetics – “Rhetoric” and “Poetics”.
Aristotle quotes
- “There was never a great intelligence without a streak of madness.”
- “People are divided between those who save as if they live forever and those who spend as if they are going to die tomorrow.”
- “The wise man never says everything he thinks, but always thinks everything he says.”
- “The joy we have in thinking and learning makes us think and learn even more.”
- “The fundamental value of life depends on perception and the power of contemplation instead of mere survival.”
- “Our character is the result of our conduct.”
- “The final value of life depends more on awareness and the power of contemplation, than on mere survival.”
- “I felt sorry for the human being behind the error, not for his character.”