Aristotle Jenni Johnson

“There is no great genius without a mixture of madness” –Aristotle

Birthplace Aristotle was born circa 384 B.C. in the Macedonian region of Greece in Stagira.

Childhood Aristotle's father was a court physician to the Macedonian king Amyntas II. Aristotle's parents died when he was young. Aristotle's brother-in-law, Proxenus, took care of him until he was of age.

Education At the age of 17, Aristotle was sent away to Plato's Academy in Athens. During this time period, Athens was considered the academic center of the universe. Aristotle became the star pupil of Plato himself.

Education After Plato's death, Aristotle left the academy and moved to Assos in Asia minor. There, he continued his work he had started at the academy. He did not take over Plato's position as head of the academy because of their opposing views.

Aristotle versus Plato The main difference between Aristotle and Plato is that Aristotle was more concerned with the material world, while Plato was not.

Relationships After living in Assos for three years, he moved to Lesbos to work with a fellow former student of Plato's Academy. There, he met and married his wife, Pythias. They conceived a daughter, whom they named Pythias.

Relationships After the death of Pythias, Aristotle had romantic relations with a woman called Herpyllis. Together they had one son, whom they named Nicomachus after Aristotle's father. Aristotle named his most famous work on ethics after his son.

Direct Influences Aristotle left Lesbos in order to tutor the Macedonian King Philip's son, Alexander- who would eventually become Alexander the Great.

Direct Influences Aristotle also influenced Ptolemy, who was the founder of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt.

Direct Influences He influenced Cassander, the future king of Macedon.

Direct Influences Out of all the people Aristotle influenced, Alexander the Great was the most important.

Accomplishments After tutoring Alexander for seven years, Aristotle returned to Athens and started his own school called The Lyceum The Lyceum became competition for Plato's Academy.

Accomplishments Aristotle was known to walk around the school while teaching His students were called "Peripatetics"- meaning "people who wander about".

The End of His Life After the death of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian government was overthrown. As a result, Aristotle was viewed as an enemy for working with the Macedonian government and was charged with criminal offenses.

The End of His Life To avoid being executed, Aristotle fled from Athens to Chalcis on the island of Euboea. While living there, he became ill and soon died of digestive problems. He requested to be buried next to his first wife, Pythias.

Contributions He is known as the Father of Western Science and the Internet because he wrote the first books on nearly every field. Whether it be botany and physics, or music and the arts, there seemed to be no limit to what he could achieve and master.

Contributions Aristotle also taught that knowledge of an object, beyond its classification and description, requires an explanation of causality, or why it is. He posed four causes or principles of explanation: the material cause (the substance of which the thing is made), the formal cause (its design), the efficient cause (its maker or builder), and the final cause (its purpose or function).

Contributions He considered philosophy to be the changeless first principles that form the basis of all knowledge. He introduced the notion of category into logic and taught that reality could be classified according to several categories—substance (the primary category), quality, quantity, relation, determination in time and space, action, passion or passivity, position, and condition

Conclusion Aristotle studies extended from nearly every region one could imagine. It is difficult to grasp the entirety of philosophical views. He made significant and lasting contributions to nearly every aspect of human knowledge, from logic to biology to ethics and aesthetics. In Arabic philosophy, he is known as “The First Teacher”; in the West, he is simply known as “The Philosopher.” His works have revolutionized our modern way of life today and can be applied in our everyday lives. Aristotle may be gone in the physical sense, but he lives on through his legacy and works he has left behind for the utilization and examination of generations to come.