Who Was Aristotle

CZYRENE M.
DIFUNTORUM
SAINT MARY’S ACADEMY
PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN ARTS
SEPTEMBER 06, 2018

Who was Aristotle?
Aristotle (c. 384 B.C. to 322 B.C.) was an Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist who is
still considered one of the greatest thinkers in politics, psychology and ethics. When Aristotle
turned 17, he enrolled in Plato’s Academy. In 338, he began tutoring Alexander the Great. In 335,
Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, in Athens, where he spent most of the rest of his
life studying, teaching and writing. Some of his most notable works include Nichomachean
Ethics, Politics, Metaphysics, Poetics and Prior Analytics. Aristotle was born circa 384 B.C. in
Stagira, a small town on the northern coast of Greece that was once a seaport.
Aristotle’s father, Nicomachus, was court physician to the Macedonian king Amyntas II.
Although Nicomachus died when Aristotle was just a young boy, Aristotle remained closely
affiliated with and influenced by the Macedonian court for the rest of his life. Little is known about
his mother, Phaestis; she is also believed to have died when Aristotle was young.After Aristotle’s
father died, Proxenus of Atarneus, who was married to Aristotle’s older sister, Arimneste, became
Aristotle’s guardian until he came of age. When Aristotle turned 17, Proxenus sent him to Athens
to pursue a higher education. At the time, Athens was considered the academic center of the
universe. In Athens, Aristotle enrolled in Plato’s Academy, Greek’s premier learning institution,
and proved an exemplary scholar. Aristotle maintained a relationship with Greek philosopher Plato,
himself a student of Socrates, and his academy for two decades. Plato died in 347 B.C. Because
Aristotle had disagreed with some of Plato’s philosophical treatises, Aristotle did not inherit the
position of director of the academy, as many imagined he would.
During his three-year stay in Mysia, Aristotle met and married his first wife, Pythias, King
Hermias’ niece. Together, the couple had a daughter, Pythias, named after her mother. In 335 B.C.,
the same year that Aristotle opened the Lyceum, his wife Pythias died. Soon after, Aristotle
embarked on a romance with a woman named Herpyllis, who hailed from his hometown of Stagira.
According to some historians, Herpyllis may have been Aristotle’s slave, granted to him by the
Macedonia court. They presume that he eventually freed and married her.
In 335 B.C., after Alexander had succeeded his father as king and conquered Athens,
Aristotle went back to the city. In Athens, Plato’s Academy, now run by Xenocrates, was still the
leading influence on Greek thought. With Alexander’s permission, Aristotle started his own school
in Athens, called the Lyceum. On and off, Aristotle spent most of the remainder of his life working
as a teacher, researcher and writer at the Lyceum in Athens until the death of his former student
Alexander the Great. Because Aristotle was known to walk around the school grounds while
teaching, his students, forced to follow him, were nicknamed the Peripatetics.
In 322 B.C., just a year after he fled to Chalcis to escape prosecution under charges of
impiety, Aristotle contracted a disease of the digestive organs and died. In the century following
Aristotle’s death, his works fell out of use, but they were revived during the first century. Over
time, they came to lay the foundation of more than seven centuries of philosophy. Aristotle’s
influence on Western thought in the humanities and social sciences is largely considered
unparalleled, with the exception of his teacher Plato’s contributions, and Plato’s teacher Socrates
before him.
Dedication
We, the youth of today tend to forget the contributions of Aristotle in the world. As most of us do
not know, Aristotle’s teachings and philosophy is considered to be one of the greatest influences on western
thought and culture. Aristotle made significant contributions in the areas of anatomy, astronomy,
economics, embryology, geography, geology, meteorology, physics and zoology, not to mention his works
in the physical sciences.
Many of his works today would be regarded as physics, biology and other sciences within his
philosophy studies. Scientists have used his work as a starting point in many sciences and despite the
restrains in his time he opened a significant door for science that would not have been possible without him.
In a more cultural view his teachings can be applied in a practical manner, much like the parable
of the Good Samaritan. Aristotle’s teachings on the pursuit of happiness. Teleology, human excellence and
the mean can and are applied in our society today because many of the core values attached to these studies
are also present in Christian teachings and other religions that are found in western culture.
For example, Catholics believe that to help those in need is doing Gods work, Aristotle’s teaching
of the pursuit of happiness and community and reason would tell us that we should help those in need as
well.
So to be a better person, we must always value the teachings of Aristotle.

Arguments
They [Young People] have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned
its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great
things – and that means having exalted notions. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones:
Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning – all their mistakes are in the direction
of doing things excessively and vehemently. They overdo everything – they love to much, hate too much,
and the same with everything else.
(Aristotle)
The statement of Aristotle is debatable because not all youth or young people today is of the same
as stated.

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CZYRENE M.

SAINT MARY’S ACADEMY

PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN ARTS

SEPTEMBER 06, 2018

position of director of the academy, as many imagined he would.

in the physical sciences.

So to be a better person, we must always value the teachings of Aristotle.

and the same with everything else.

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