ARISTOTLE
(384–322 B.C.)
Greek philosopher
Born in Stagita, Greece, Aristotle attended the Academy of Plato in
Athens for twenty years until Plato’s death.
After teaching and tutoring for a
few years, he established a school in Athens known as the Lyceum.
His aim was to
establish a program of investigation and teaching in almost every branch of
knowledge. His
philosophy consisted in his contributions to the sciences and his reflections on
their interrelations.
With the exception of Plato, his teacher, he is considered
to be the most influential philosopher in the history of western thought.
Though
a disciple of Plato, Aristotle’s philosophical position was very different. In
fact, by the end of his life Aristotle rejected most of Plato’s metaphysical
philosophy, replacing it with empirical science.
Aristotle believed that
philosophic wisdom must be intuitive reason combined with scientific knowledge and that practical wisdom is concerned with things “human.”
Aristotle believed
that the relations between man and God are so different because man has
imperfections and hindrances that do not exist in the perfect God. God,
according to Aristotle, goes through no processes as man does. He is pure mind,
which can contemplate in a single instant. He is the one full and perfect being.
According to Aristotle, “God is the Unmoved Mover.” The “dunamis,” or urge of
nature, propels man to grow to maturity and seek to be like the excellent,
virtuous God. Aristotle believed that virtue in man is a “state of character.” A
man is virtuous both in word and life because his character is such. Virtue is
in our own power, also vice. For where it is in our power to act, it is also our
power not to act. Men make themselves responsible for being unjust or
self-indulgent, therefore creating a character that reflects God.
Aristotle
supervised the education of Alexander, son of Philip II of Macedon, later know
as Alexander the Great.
After several years in Athens, Aristotle was charged by
the Athenians with “impiety”—a lack of reverence for the gods. He fled to
Chalcis, since he had not forgotten the fate of Socrates, condemned to death on
a similar charge. He died in Chalcis one year later.
In the early centuries of
the Christian church, Aristotle’s philosophy was regarded with suspicion because
many people thought that his teachings led to a materialistic view of the world.
However, after first-hand acquaintance with Aristotle had disappeared for some
centuries, knowledge of his teachings was recovered from Arabic translations
made by Jews and Muslims. His writings were translated into Latin and after some
suspicion, were actually incorporated into use by Christian philosophers such as St. Thomas Aquinas.
To these leading scholars, his
writings seemed to contain the sum total of human knowledge, and his thoughts
were comparable to those of the Christian philosophers. The systems of these
philosophers were built on an avowedly Aristotelian basis. This basis has been
accepted by philosophical theology in the West ever since.
