Essay Example on Aristotle Biography

Introduction

'A towering figure' is a phrase that is used to refer to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. The philosopher Aristotle was born in 384 B.C in Stagira located in Northern Greece (Dover, Kenneth, and Kenneth). His parents were associates of traditional medical families. His father who was named Nicomachus professional career was a court physician of king Amyntus III of Macedonia. It happened that his parents died while he was still at a young age and was possibly brought up at his family's homestead in Stagira. While Aristotle was 17 years, he left to Athens to join Plato's Academy. He spent 20 years acting like a student and a tutor at the same school. The philosopher emerged with both a good deal and great respect of criticism for his tutor's models. Plato's self later writings, where he moderated some earlier points, possibly allow the mark of repeated negotiations with his most talented student.

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Aristotle Education, Family and Early Life

Nicomachus was Aristotle's father who died when Aristotle was at a very young age. After the death of his father, Aristotle continued being associated and influenced by the Macedonian court in his entire life. There is less information about his mother, Phaestis, who is thought to have died when the philosopher was young. Since Aristotle had differed with some Plato's theoretical treaties, he did not take over the place of director of the school, and a majority thought he would (McKeon and Richard). After the death of Plato, Hermias, a king of Atarneus and a friend to Aristotle called Aristotle to court. Aristotle was a student of Socrates for the 20 years.

Aristotle three-year vacation in Mysia, made him meet and marry Pythias, who was a niece to Hermias (Chroust and Anton-Hermann 41). The couple lived together and had a daughter who was named after her mother Pythias. In 335 B.C, in the same year that Aristotle established the Lyceum, his spouse Pythias passed on. He later had a relationship with another woman Herpyllis, who hailed from Stagira his hometown. According to various Historians, Herpyllis is thought to have been Aristotle's slave given to him by Macedonia court. They believe he freed and later married her. She bore children including Nicomachus who was named after Aristotle's father.

Aristotle is believed to be the father of logic. He developed the first method of reasoning. He saw that its assembly relative to its content could resolve the legitimacy of any dispute. A valid example is his syllogism that stated that 'All men are mortal' and Socrates is a man; therefore Socrates is earthly. In Lyceum, Aristotle composed close to 200 works, and only 31 last. His works are practically jumbled and dense. This suggests that they were used in private schools as lecture notes. Aristotle's surviving works are categorized into four types. The 'Organon' which is writing that offers a flexible toolkit used in any scientific or theoretical investigation. 'Physics' which is a basic analysis about change and nature of matter and 'Metaphysics' which refers to the quasi-theological inquiry of life itself, poetry, psychology, and politics.

Poetics

Numerous histories of Aristotle was on poetics and art. Like many of his works, they were composed around 330 BCE. Many of them exist until today because they were written and preserved by his students in his lectures. His discernment in poetics mainly revolves around drama. The period he was gaining more ground in the universe, his original stand on a show was subdivided into two parts. The first part argued the several details of comedy while the second part concentrated on epic and tragedy. According to Aristotle, a useful and noble tragedy should include the audience making them feel katharsis which is an intellect of purification through fear and pity.

Classification of Living Things

Aristotle was the first person to venture in the taxonomy of diverse animals. He used characteristics that are alike among various animals to categorize them into similar groups. Based on the environment, he classified animals that live on land and in water. Based on blood, he established groups of animals with and without blood. Aristotle later developed the binomial naming convention, where living organisms were given two sets of nomenclature.

Politics

Politics is the Greek word 'polis.' Aristotle alleged that polis replicated the first band of political affiliation. Being a citizen was vital for an individual to have a good quality of life. In his view, he concluded that 'man is a political animal.' His advanced ventures in the biology of ordinary fauna and flora are noticeable in the naturalism of the politics he played.

There is a controversy whether the political books are in the form and order Aristotle planned. Carned lord and other scholars have raised arguments based on a range of textual proof that books 8 and seven were prepared by Aristotle to track book 3. Rearranging it would have an impact of connecting new arguments of the roots of the city and political life, with dialogue of the perfect town and education that is suitable for it, leaving behind books 4-6 which are majorly concerned with surviving variations of regimes how they destroyed and preserved and stirring them to the book's conclusion. The politics seem to be incomplete is the next disagreement. Book 6 ends in the center of a sentence while booking 8 in the center of a discussion. It is therefore likely that Aristotle never completed writing. More likely, a material is missing due to the damage of the written scrolls.

There is a disagreement that the majority of the people who read Aristotle don't understand his original Attic Greek but instead reads translations. This is as a result of different authors translating Aristotle in different ways. How a word is translated is vital in the whole text. Another controversy develops as a result of scholars believing that politics and ethics are his lecture notes. Aristotle never wrote for general audience making this a cause why many learners have trouble reading their work.

Aristotle died in 322B.C one year after he escaped to Chalcis to run after prosecution beneath charges of hypocrisy. The death was caused by a digestive disease that affected his organs.

Works Cited

Chroust, Anton-Hermann. "Aristotle leaves the Academy." Greece & Rome 14.1 (1967): 39-43.

Dover, Kenneth James, and Kenneth James Dover. Greek popular morality in the time of Plato and Aristotle. Hackett Publishing, 1994.

McKeon, Richard, ed. Introduction to Aristotle. No. 180 M2. New York: Modern Library, 1947.