Who Is Aristotle
Aristotle Biography
Aristotle (384 BCE – 322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher and polymath who lived in ancient Greece. He was a student of Plato and tutored Alexander the Great. He is widely considered as one of the greatest philosophers of all time and his works covered a wide range of subjects, including logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, biology, and physics.
Aristotle was born in Stagira, a small city in northern Greece, and he began his studies at the Academy in Athens, which was founded by Plato. After Plato's death, he left Athens and traveled to various places, including Lesbos and Assos, where he conducted research in biology. He also spent some time working as a tutor for Alexander the Great in Macedonia.
Aristotle's most famous works include "Nicomachean Ethics," which deals with the nature of ethics and morality, and "Politics," which deals with the nature of the state and government. He also wrote on logic and reasoning in "Organon", which contains his syllogistic logic, and in "Metaphysics" which discusses the nature of reality. He also wrote on natural sciences, including physics and biology, and his work on these subjects was influential for centuries and considered a foundation of the scientific method.
Aristotle returned to Athens in 335 BCE and founded his own school, the Lyceum. He taught and wrote for the rest of his life, but after the death of Alexander the Great and the rise of anti-Macedonian sentiment in Athens, Aristotle felt compelled to leave Athens, and he died in Euboea soon after.
Aristotle's ideas have had a profound and lasting influence on Western thought and continue to be studied and debated by philosophers, scientists, and scholars today.
Aristotle Fast Facts
* Aristotle was born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece, and began his education as a student of Plato in Athens.
* After Plato's death, he traveled to Asia Minor and Lesbos, where he studied biology, and then to Pella, the capital of Macedon, where he tutored Alexander the Great.
* Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, in Athens, where he taught for over a decade and wrote many of his famous works.
* He wrote on a wide range of subjects, including logic, metaphysics, biology, ethics, politics, and literature, and his work covered many fields that we now consider to be separate disciplines.
* Aristotle's ideas on logic and reasoning had a profound impact on the development of Western thought, and his syllogism is still widely used in modern logic and philosophy.
* He is also known for his work on metaphysics, including his concept of "substance," which laid the foundations for the study of ontology.
* Aristotle's work on biology also was significant, including his concept of the "Great Chain of Being" which posited a hierarchical arrangement of all living things.
* Aristotle's ideas on ethics, politics and government also had a great influence on the development of Western thought and continue to be studied today.
* Aristotle died in Chalcis, Greece in 322 BC.
Aristotle Top Quotes
"Quality is not an act, it is a habit." (Meaning)
"The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances." (Meaning)
"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." (Meaning)
"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." (Meaning)
"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." (Meaning)
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." (Meaning)
"Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god." (Meaning)
"There is no great genius without some touch of madness." (Meaning)
"A friend to all is a friend to none." (Meaning)
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." (Meaning)
"At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst." (Meaning)
"Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." (Meaning)
"Good habits formed at youth make all the difference." (Meaning)
"Happiness depends upon ourselves." (Meaning)
"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self." (Meaning)
"You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor." (Meaning)
"Hope is a waking dream." (Meaning)
"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." (Meaning)
"Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach." (Meaning)
"He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god." (Meaning)
"Well begun is half done." (Meaning)
"The secret to humor is surprise." (Meaning)
"The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain." (Meaning)
"Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference." (Meaning)
"We make war that we may live in peace." (Meaning)
"The law is reason, free from passion." (Meaning)
"The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival." (Meaning)
"What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do." (Meaning)
"Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others." (Meaning)
"Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind." (Meaning)
"The soul never thinks without a picture." (Meaning)
"Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts." (Meaning)
"Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope." (Meaning)
"Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil." (Meaning)
"Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own." (Meaning)
"The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead." (Meaning)
"It is best to rise from life as from a banquet, neither thirsty nor drunken." (Meaning)
"My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake." (Meaning)
"To run away from trouble is a form of cowardice and, while it is true that the suicide braves death, he does it not for some noble object but to escape some ill." (Meaning)
"Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit." (Meaning)
"Wit is educated insolence." (Meaning)
* The editor of this short biography made every effort to maintain information accuracy, including any quotes, facts, or key life events. If you're looking to expand your personal development, I recommend exploring other people's life stories and gaining inspiration from my collection of inspiring quotes. Exposing yourself to different perspectives can broaden your worldview and help you with your personal growth.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
