Aristotle

384 BC–322 BC Greek philosopher Aristotle, a pupil of German religious philosopher Saint Aristotle numbers among the greatest of all time. Almost peerless, he shaped centuri 384 BC–322 BC Greek philosopher Aristotle, a pupil of German religious philosopher Saint Aristotle numbers among the greatest of all time. Almost peerless, he shaped centuries from late antiquity through the Renaissance, and people even today continue to study him with keen, non-antiquarian interest. This prodigious researcher and writer left a great body, perhaps numbering as many as two hundred treatises, from which 31 survive. His extant writings span a wide range of disciplines from mind through aesthetics and rhetoric and into such primary fields as biology; he excelled at detailed plant and animal taxonomy. In all these topics, he provided illumination, met with resistance, sparked debate, and generally stimulated the sustained interest of an abiding readership. Wide range and its remoteness in time defies easy encapsulation. The long history of interpretation and appropriation of texts and themes, spanning over two millennia within a variety of religious and secular traditions, rendered controversial even basic points of interpretation.

Aristotle’s logic, especially his theory of the syllogism, has had an unparalleled influence on the history of Western thought. It did not always hold this position: in the Hellenistic period, Stoic logic, and in particular the work of Chrysippus, took pride of place. However, in later antiquity, following the work of Aristotelian Commentators, Aristotle’s logic became dominant, and Aristotelian logic was what was transmitted to the Arabic and the Latin medieval traditions, while the works of Chrysippus have not survived. This unique historical position has not always contributed to the understanding of Aristotle’s logical works. Kant thought that Aristotle had discovered everything there was to know about logic, and the historian of logic Prantl drew the corollary that any logician after Aristotle who said anything new was confused, stupid, or perverse. During the rise of modern formal logic following Frege and Peirce, adherents of Traditional Logic (seen as the descendant of Aristotelian Logic) and the new mathematical logic tended to see one another as rivals, with incompatible notions of logic. More recent scholarship has often applied the very techniques of mathematical logic to Aristotle’s theories, revealing (in the opinion of many) a number of similarities of approach and interest between Aristotle and modern logicians. This article is written from the latter perspective. As such, it is about Aristotle’s logic, which is not always the same thing as what has been ca...

Aristotle: Ethics Standard interpretations of Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics usually maintain that These interpretations of Aristotle’s hexis to denote hexis is an active condition, a state in which something must actively hold itself. Virtue, therefore, manifests itself in action. More explicitly, an action counts as virtuous, according to Aristotle, when one holds oneself in a stable equilibrium of the soul, in order to choose the action knowingly and for its own sake. This stable equilibrium of the soul is what constitutes Similarly, Aristotle’s concept of the mean is often misunderstood. In the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle repeatedly states that virtue is a mean. The mean is a state of clarification and apprehension in the midst of pleasures and pains that allows one to judge what seems most truly pleasant or painful. This active state of the soul is the condition in which all the powers of the soul are at work in concert. Achieving good character is a process of clearing away the obstacles that stand in the way of the full efficacy of the soul. For Aristotle, moral virtue is the only practical road to effective action. What the person of good character loves with right desire and thinks of as an end with right reason must first be perceived as beautiful. Hence, the virtuous person sees truly and judges rightly, since beautiful things appear as they truly are only to a person of good character. It is only in the middle ground between habits of acting and principles ...

Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.) numbers among the greatest philosophers of all time. Judged solely in terms of his philosophical influence, only Plato is his peer: Aristotle’s works shaped centuries of philosophy from Late Antiquity through the Renaissance, and even today continue to be studied with keen, non-antiquarian interest. A prodigious researcher and writer, Aristotle left a great body of work, perhaps numbering as many as two-hundred treatises, from which approximately thirty-one survive. [ Because of its wide range and its remoteness in time, Aristotle’s philosophy defies easy encapsulation. The long history of interpretation and appropriation of Aristotelian texts and themes—spanning over two millennia and comprising philosophers working within a variety of religious and secular traditions—has rendered even basic points of interpretation controversial. The set of entries on Aristotle in this site addresses this situation by proceeding in three tiers. First, the present, general entry offers a brief account of Aristotle’s life and characterizes his central philosophical commitments, highlighting his most distinctive methods and most influential achievements. [ General Topics, which offer detailed introductions to the main areas of Aristotle’s philosophical activity. Finally, there follow Special Topics, which investigate in greater detail more narrowly focused issues, especially those of central concern in recent Aristotelian scholarship. Born in 384 B.C.E. in the Mac...

We possess only vague impressions and limited biographical reports of Aristotle, called in the Middle Ages “the master of those who know.” Our scarce testimony comes from letters, poems, and other material from Stagira, Delphi and Athens. Moreover, ancient biography is not beyond suspicion, having been compiled long after Aristotle’s lifetime. For example, the best known text, Diogenes Laertius’ Lives and Opinions of the Eminent Philosophers (220 CE), is a mélange of fact and fiction. Diogenes has this to report about Aristotle: “He spoke with a lisp, and he also had weak legs and small eyes, but he dressed elegantly and was conspicuous by his use of rings and his hair-style.” Whether or not Aristotle was such a dandy we may never know, but it is certain that his life and work coincided with the demise of the Greek polis. Aristotle witnessed the defeat of Athens and Thebes against Philip II at Chaeronea (338 BCE), and, it seems, was a tutor of Philip’s son, Alexander the Great. Born in 384 BCE in Stagira, in the northwest of Greece, Aristotle, unlike Plato, was not a scion of high-born Athenian aristocracy, nor even a citizen of Athens. He was a resident alien (a “metic”), a foreigner who was deprived of political rights. Nevertheless, he was from a renowned family. His father Nicomachus was a royal physician at the Macedonian court. Aristotle received a first-rate education, which was supervised by his guardian after the death of his father. In 367 at the age of seventeen...

Author • Emily Katz Associate Professor of Ancient Greek Philosophy, Michigan State University Disclosure statement Emily Katz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Partners The Conversation UK receives funding from these organisations View the full list Languages • • English While most love songs are inspired by the joys and heartaches of romantic relationships, love between friends can be just as intense and complicated. Many people struggle to make and maintain friendships, and a falling-out with a close friend can be as painful as a breakup with a partner. Despite these potential pitfalls, human beings have always prized friendship. As the 4th century B.C.E. philosopher Aristotle wrote: “ Here, then, are three lessons about friendship that Aristotle can still teach us. 1. Friendship is reciprocal and recognized The first lesson comes from Aristotle’s definition of friendship: reciprocal, recognized goodwill. In contrast to parenthood or siblinghood, friendship exists only if it is acknowledged by both parties. It is not enough to wish someone well; they have to wish you well in return, and you must both recognize this mutual goodwill. As Aristotle Aristotle illustrates this point with an early example of a This is as true today as it was in Aristotle’s time. Consider that you cannot even be Facebook ...