Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC), an ancient sage, an ancient Greek, one of the great philosophers, scientists and educators in the ancient history of the world, can be called the master of Greek philosophy. . He was a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander.

Biography

In 384 BC, Aristotle was born in the Greek settlement of Stakiel in Fulakia. His father was the court physician to King Philip II of Macedonia, so his family should belong to the middle class of the slave-owning class. Aristotle moved to Athens in 367 BC. He studied medicine and studied at Plato's Academy in Athens for many years. He was an active participant in Plato's Academy.

Study philosophy with Plato in Aristotle’s Athens from the age of eighteen to thirty-eight. These twenty years were a very important stage for Aristotle, and his study and life during this period had a decisive impact on his life. Socrates was Plato's teacher, and Aristotle was taught by Plato. These three generations of masters and disciples are all famous figures in the history of philosophy.

In Plato's Academy in Athens, Aristotle performed very well. Plato called him the "spirit of the academy." But Aristotle was not a person who only worshiped authority and was academically submissive without having his own ideas. He was different from teachers who talked about mysteries. He worked hard to collect various books and materials, studied diligently, and even built a library for himself. While at the academy, Aristotle had ideological differences with his teacher. He once metaphorically said that wisdom will not die with Plato. When Plato reached his later years, the differences between his teacher and his students became even greater, and they often had quarrels. After Plato's death in 347 BC, Aristotle stayed in Athens for another two years, after which he began to travel around. In 343 BC, he was hired by King Philip II of Macedon to serve as the teacher of Prince Alexander. At that time, Alexander was thirteen years old and Aristotle was forty-two.

Philip was assassinated in 336 BC. His son, Alexander, who was only twenty years old, became king. In 334 BC, Alexander led the Macedonian army and the coalition of Greek states to conquer Persia. In less than ten years, he defeated the Persian army of millions, and then destroyed the ancient Persian Empire. An unprecedentedly large Alexander Empire—with its territory stretching from Greece in the west, to the Indus River in the east, to Egypt in the south, and to Central Asia in the north—was established. In 323 BC, Alexander died of illness. This great empire, established through military conquest, split into several independent kingdoms after melee. It was during this turbulent era that Aristotle returned to Athens and lived there for twenty years, from the year before Alexander set out on his expedition to the year of Alexander's death.

Aristotle may have come to Athens with a political mission to persuade the Athenians to obey Macedonia. Aristotle received a lot of preferential treatment in Athens. In addition to his prominent political position, he also received a large amount of money, materials and land support from Alexander and Macedonian bureaucrats at all levels. The Lyceum Academy he founded occupies a large sports field and garden area near the Temple of Apollo Lyceum. In the academy, there were the first-class libraries and zoological and botanical gardens at that time. He founded his own school here. The teachers and students of this school were accustomed to discussing problems while walking in the garden, hence the name "Xiaoyao School". It is said that Alexander provided his teacher with a research fee of eight hundred gold talents (each talent equaled sixty pounds of gold). Alexander also provided his teacher with a large amount of manpower, and he ordered his men to collect animal and plant specimens and other materials for Aristotle.

In fact, Aristotle’s vast works cannot be completed by one person. For example, he once summarized and analyzed one hundred and fifty-eight political systems. This work required a large amount of collection and organization work, which would have been impossible to complete without the assistance of a group of assistants.

When the news of Alexander's death reached Athens, there was an anti-Macedonian frenzy immediately. The Athenians attacked Aristotle and convicted him of impiety. Socrates was convicted of disrespecting the gods. Sentenced to death for the crime of worshiping God. But Aristotle eventually escaped from Athens and died the next year at the age of sixty-three.

Research fields:

Aristotle is the greatest philosopher, scientist and educator in the ancient history of the world. He founded formal logic, enriched and developed various branches of philosophy, and made great contributions to science.

Aristotle believed that analysis or logic is the tool of all sciences. He is the founder of formal logic. He strives to connect the form of thinking with existence and clarify the categories of logic based on objective reality.

In terms of astronomy, he believed that the moving celestial bodies are material entities. The earth is spherical and is the center of the universe. The earth and celestial bodies are composed of different materials. The materials on the earth are composed of water, air, fire, and earth. Composed of four elements, the celestial body is composed of the fifth element "ether".

In terms of physics, he opposed atomic theory and did not admit the existence of vacuum; he also believed that objects can only move when pushed by external forces. When the external force stops, the movement will stop.

In terms of biology, he classified more than 500 different plants and animals, conducted anatomical studies on at least 50 kinds of animals, pointed out that whales are viviparous, and also examined chick embryos. development process.

In terms of education, he believed that the development of rationality was the ultimate goal of education, and advocated that the country should provide fair education to the children of slave owners. So that their body, virtue and wisdom can develop harmoniously.

Aristotle also proposed many concepts in mathematics and physics, such as limits, infinite numbers, the synthesis of forces, etc.

Related works:

1. Aristotle’s logic works were later compiled into a book by his annotators, named "On Instruments". They inherited Aristotle's view that logic is neither theoretical knowledge nor practical knowledge, but only a tool for knowledge. "On Instruments" mainly discusses the deduction method, laying the foundation for formal logic and having a profound impact on the development of this science.

2. Another work by Aristotle, "Physics", discusses issues such as natural philosophy, principles of existence, matter and form, motion, time and space.

3. Aristotle began to discuss matter and destructible things in his book "On the Heavens", and then discussed occurrence and destruction.

4. "Meteorology" discusses the area between heaven and earth, that is, the zone of planets, comets and meteors; it also contains some primitive theories about vision, color vision and rainbows.

5. Aristotle's other important works include: "Metaphysics", "Ethics", "Politics" and "Analysis of the First and Second Parts", etc.