Aristotle

Group 2
Life of Aristotle

ARISTOTLE (c. 384 B.C to 322 B.C)

• Aristotle was born in Stagira, Chalcidice, Greece

• His father was physician to the king of Macedonia
• When he was 7, he went to study at Plato’s Academy
• Began as a student, became a researcher and finally a teacher
• Was a considered one of Plato’s best students
• Plato died and willed the Academy to his nephew.
• Aristotle left and founded the Lyceum.
Life of Aristotle
BRIEF HISTORY
• Aristotle was a Greek philosopher during the Classical
period in Ancient Greece,
• The founder of the Lyceum and the Peripatetic school of philosophy
and Aristotelian tradition.
• Along with his teacher Plato, he has been called the "Father
of Western Philosophy".
• His writings cover many subjects including physics, biology, zoology,
metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric,
psychology, linguistics, economics, politics and government.
Life of Aristotle

• Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies

existing prior to him, and it was above all from his teachings that the
West inherited its intellectual lexicon, as well as problems and
methods of inquiry.
• As a result, his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost
every form of knowledge in the West and it continues to be a subject
of contemporary philosophical discussion.
• As a prolific writer and polymath, Aristotle radically transformed most,
if not all, areas of knowledge he touched.
Education
At age 17 he was sent to Athens to enroll in Plato’s Academy
Education
Plato’s Academy in Athens
Education
He spent 20 years as a student and teacher at the school,
emerging with both a great respect and a good deal of
criticism for his teacher’s theories
Education
He spent five years on the coast of Asia Minor as a guest of
former students at Assos and Lesbos
Education
It was here that he undertook his pioneering research into marine
biology and married his wife Pythias, with whom he had his only
daughter, also named Pythias.
Education
Aristotle’s Lyceum
Education
World’s first library
Education
It was at the Lyceum that Aristotle probably composed most of
his approximately 200 works, of which only 31 survive.
Teachings

It's not like Aristotle was a modern tutor. His "classes"

consisted of conversations with the student. Knowing Aristotle,
these conversations probably covered the entire breadth of
knowledge known to the Greeks
Teachings

Aristotle was not a general, so I doubt that military

strategy was a major topic of discussion. In any case,
Alexander was the son of Philip II, so it's unlikely that he
would have needed large amounts of external military tutoring.
Also, Aristotle didn't start teaching Alexander until 343. By
then, Alexander had already served as an officer in his
father's conquest of Greece.
Teachings

In 342 BCE and interesting fact happens: Philosopher

Aristotle is called in the realm of Pella, to teach the future
emperor Alexander III of Macedonia. Aristotle tutors him for
three years, until the 18-year-old student Alexander begins to
fight alongside his dad Philip II.
Teachings

Plutarch describes Alexander as a brilliant student in his

Parallel Lives; so high-performing that he is introduced to the
acroamatic (“for hearing only”) and to the esoteric doctrines
(“belonging to an inner circle”) - originally referred to the
secret teachings of Greek philosophers-. Those two doctrines
are the core of the Aristotelian philosophy and the highest
knowledge precepts at that time.
Teachings

acroamatic (comparative more acroamatic, superlative

most acroamatic) (rare) Of or related to esoteric knowledge
transmitted orally, particularly (historical) applied to the
teachings of Aristotle intended only for his disciples as
opposed to the exoteric doctrines declaimed in public.
Contributions/Books
Founder of Zoology
• Aristotle is also known as the Father of Zoology.
Politics by Aristotle
• The word “politics” is derived from the Greek word polis
which in ancient Greece simply represented any city state.
Aristotle believed that the polis reflected the topmost strata
of political association. Being a citizen of a polis was
essential for a person to lead a good-quality life.
Contributions/Books
ON THE SOUL ( DE ANIMA)
Contributions/Books
Written by Aristotle 350 BC.
• Although its topic is the soul, it is not about spirituality but rather a
work in what might best be described as biopsychology, a
description of the subject of psychology within a biological
framework.
• His discussion centers on the kinds of souls possessed by
different kinds of living things, distinguished by their different
operations.
• Aristotle holds that the soul (psyche, ψυχή) is the form,
or essence of any living thing; it is not a distinct substance from
the body that it is in.
Contributions/Books
The Nicomachean by Aristotle

• Aristotelian ethics outline the different social and behavioral

virtues of an ideal man.
• For example, the confidence one bears in the face of fear and
defeat stacks up as courage, the ability to resist the temptations of
physical pleasures stand out as a person’s temperance, liberality
and magnificence speak of the volumes of wealth one can give
away for the welfare of others, and any ambition can never be
truly magnanimous unless it attains an impeccable balance
between the honor it promises and the dues it pays.
Contributions/Books
The Nicomachean by Aristotle
• These, along with other pivotal excerpts, build the
groundwork for Aristotle’s endeavors in ethics. In this ethical
essence, Aristotle believed that “regardless of the various
influences of our parents, society and nature, we ourselves
are the sole narrators of our souls and their active states.”
• The name got from his son, Nicomachus.
Philosophy
• Aristotle undeniably diverged from Plato in his
view of what a human being most truly and
fundamentally is. Plato, at least in many of his
dialogues, held that the true self of human
beings is the reason or the intellect that
constitutes their soul and that is separable
from their body. Aristotle, for his part, insisted
that the human being is a composite of body
and soul and that the soul cannot be separated
from the body.
Philosophy
• Aristotle’s philosophy of self was constructed in
terms of hylomorphism in which the soul of a
human being is the form or the structure of the
human body or the human matter, i.e., the
functional organization in virtue of which
human beings are able to perform their
characteristic activities of life, including growth,
nutrition, reproduction, perception, imagination,
desire, and thinking the goal of human life
should be understood as a realization of
universal humanity.
Philosophy
• A human being can be ignorant of who she/he
is, what she/he is doing, what or whom she is
acting on, as well as with what instrument, to
what end and how she is doing it. However,
Aristotle thought that only mad people can be
ignorant of all of these things, and he does
also not seem to allow the possibility of being
ignorant of the agent, for how could it happen
that a human being does not know oneself?
Philosophy
What makes people happy?
There are 11 virtues.
Cowardice Courage Rashness
Insensibility Temperance Self-indulgence
Illiberatility/Meanness Liberality Prodigality
Stinginess Magnificence Vulgarity
Pusillanimity Magnanimity Vanity
Unambitious Pride Ambition
Lack of spirit Patience Irascibility
Understatement Truthfulness Boastfulness
Boorishness Wittiness Buffoonery
Cantankerousness Friendliness Obsequiusness
Shamlessness Modesty Shyness
Spitefulness Righteous indignation Envy
Philosophy
What is Art for?
Peripeteia ( a change in fortune)
Anagnoresis ( a dramatic revelation)

Katharsis in greek Catharsis

Philosophy
What are friends for?
Short term friends
Mga Peke. Friends who are
only friends for you for
themselves to move forward
in life. You also do the same Real True Friends
to this person.
Philosophy
How Could Ideas Cut
Through In A Busy World?

Rhetoric ( Art to getting people to agree with you)

Conclusion/Legacy
• In the century following Aristotle's death, his work fell out of us, but
they were revived during the first century.Over time, they came to
lay on foundation of more than seven centuries of philosophy.
• Aristotle's influence on western thought in the humanities and social
science is largely considered unparalleled, with the exception of his
teacher Plato's contributions, and Plato's teacher Socrates before
him.
• The two millienia-Strong academic practice of interpreting and
debating Aristotle's philosophical works continue to endure.