Aristotle (384-322v.C.)

belongs to one of the most famous and influential philosopher in history. A lot of disciplines and (technical) terms has been significant embossed or even founded by Aristotle. Some examples for disciplines are biology, ethics, logic and physics. Terms that he has a great influence on are for example substance, potency, theory and practice. Out of his ideas, the "Aristotelism" was built up.

The Greek philosopher belongs with Socrates and Plato to one of the most famous and significant philosophers ever.

Aristotle was born in Stagira in Makedonia which he left when he became 17 years old. He moved to Athens to study at Plato's university. Here, he stayed for 20 years as a student and then as a teacher. After Plato's death (347 B. C.) Aristotle moved again to Assos, a small city in Asia Minor where Hermia ruled, also a friend of Aristotle. On demand from Hermia, Aristotle married his niece and adopted daughter Pythias. But Hermias was captured and murdered by the Persians 345 before Christ, Aristotle moves again to Pella, the capital of Makedonia. He found work as a teacher of the successors to the throne.

One of them, Alexander the Great has been. He taught him until he was crowned as the king. Then, Aristotle relocated to Athens and established his own school "Lykeion". Aristotle decided to retreat to his country estate on Eboea after the death of Alexander the Great (323 before Christ) when the spread of a high anti- makedonian attitude has been proceeded. One year later, Aristotle died there.

Aristotle has written a dictionary within a lot of philosophic terms and a summery of the theory of Pythagoras from which short extracts are obtained. Also his material for his lessons in school were thoroughly summarized and received in nearly every aspect which means from science to art. Out off these knowledge, Aristotle's reputation is reasoned because they were collected and sorted by later editors. One example could be his disquisition of the logic which is called "Organon" (means tool) shows ways how to reach the right knowledge.

His writings embrace among other things:

• Physics contains comprehensive information about astronomy, metrology, plants and animals
• Aristotle gave his "first philosophy" (named by his own) the title Metaphysics (approximately 60 before Christ) which includes nature, intent and properties of things because they were following in every publication after the physics aspects.
• "Prime Mover" or "The First Cause" that is also known as the principle of the "pure thinking", "absolute device" or "the thinking of thinking".

 

Aristotle inscribes his ethical writings "Nokomachische Ethic" to his son Nicomachos.
Some more of his main work are only imperfectly and incomplete obtained, like for example some aspects of rhetoric, poetics and policies

Affected by his father's work as a doctor, the focus of Aristotle is also on the biological aspects. For him, the world is compromised of individuals (substances) that could be divided in certain natural genus (species). Every individual has a specified sample concerning development and growth so that it can develop corresponding an exemplar of his genus. Growth, purpose and direction are the most important components of the beings.

As Aristotle says, science and philosophic have to be in balance so that between the demand of the Empirism (the cognition of the sensory experience) and the formalism (rational deduction) and not to select only one of them. He made an other essential contribution for the philosophy by inventing the term "causality". That means that there are more reasons than only one reason (that was the way fellow Greeks thought about) that describes what,why and what for some things are existing.

Therefor Aristotle recommends 4 level to explain:

1. materiel cause: the substance the thing consists of
2. efficient cause: the source for movement, development or changes
3. formal cause: defines form, art or type
4. final cause: the aim

Explanation of these 4 causes:

1. A young lion consists of tissues and organs,
2. His parents have procreated him,
3. It is determined of the species of the lion
4. This is his compulsion to develop to an adult lion

These four causes can be used analogously for different coherences.

At this point it becomes clear that Aristotle had an huge and omnipresent impact on both philosophy and biology.
The zoology invoked on Aristotle's theory until the 19. century when the English scientist Charles Darwin published his theory about the "The Constancy of types" and additionally, refuted the theory of Aristotle.

In the 20th century, Aristotle's method has seen a boost concerning education, criticism concerning literary, the analysis of human's action and the political analysis.

To put it all into a nutshell, not only the aspect of the zoology, also the whole world of letters confirm Aristotle's philosophy. Once, Darwin said that the great intellectual of Aristotle's time are compared to Aristotle simple schoolboys.

 

The Greek philosopher Aristotle belongs together with Socrates and Plato to one of the most famous and significant philosophers ever.