A Rise to Tell: Aristotle's Life and Greatest Contributions through the Years

Birth of Aristotle

384 BCE

Pheastis, together with her husband Nichomachus, gave birth to a Greek philosopher named Aristotle in 384 BCE in Stagira, Greece. He was the brother of Arimneste and Arimnestus. Aristotle's birth will be the starting point that will serve as the beginning of the journey of another historical Greek philosopher that is expected to follow the legacy of the Pre-Socratics, as well as, Socrates and Plato.

Entered in Plato's Academy

367 BCE

At the age of 17, Aristotle entered the Platonic Academy in Athens to begin learning as a student of a well-known philosopher named Plato. In addition, he became a teacher in the aforementioned school where he shared different theories and views in life. As part of his profession, he also taught Alexander the Great of Persia. He stayed in the academy for 20 years and left Athens after the death of his instructor, Plato.

Written "De Anima" (On the Soul)

350 BCE

From the name itself, this book published by Aristotle talks about understanding the soul by determining its essential nature and properties. For him, knowing one's soul is one of the most difficult things to do in this world. He tackled the difference between plants', animals' and humans' souls. This book has 80 pages in the PDF version. This translation by J. A. Smith was originally published in 1931. According to him, "The mind is not the man, it is not the body, it is not a body".

Conceptualized the Golden Mean

350 BCE

Since he wanted people to be virtuous, he shared the concept of "The Golden Mean" which tackles moderation. He believed that it is best for humans to be able to handle situations with attributes that are neither an excess nor a deficiency. Aristotle claimed that it is essential to understand how to deal with different instances without going too far and also too short. "Virtue is the golden mean between two vices, the one of excess and the other of deficiency," he said.

Organon: Syllogism's Logic

350 BCE

As the founder of logic, his major philosophical ideas revolved around this field which deals with an effective way of reasoning in order to arrive at valid conclusions about a specific subject. All of his works regarding this topic have been compressed in a book entitled "Organon" which served as his tool to investigate other sciences. It is composed of six works with various topics such as Categories, On Interpretation, Prior Analytics, Posterior Analytics, Topics, and Sophistical Refutations.

Published Books about Metaphysics

350 BCE

Aristotle wrote and compiled 16 books which are all about metaphysics which literally means "after physics". It is a branch of philosophy that tackles the fundamental nature of reality and existence. He named it the "first philosophy" since he believed that it was the foundation of philosophy. It can be read here that, “For it is owing to their wonder that men both now begin and at first began to philosophize.”

Government Theory

350 BCE

Aristotle mainly believed that the government exists for the citizens to live with virtue. Virtuous citizens will surely obey laws, as well as, unite and contribute to the community to succeed in life. He shared in his book, “Let us presuppose this much, that the best way of life both separately for each individual and in common for cities is that accompanied by virtue—virtue that is equipped to such an extent as to allow them to take part in actions that accord with virtue.”

Nicomachean Ethics: Eudaimonia

340 BCE

Living a flourishing life for humans was given emphasis by Aristotle through his philosophy named eudaimonia in his 10-book writing entitled "Nicomachean Ethics". Usually, eudaimonia is translated as happiness or people's success and fulfillment that can be achieved by being virtuous. A quote that can be read within the book is that “The ultimate end of human acts is eudaimonia, happiness in the sense of living well, which all men desire; all acts are but different means chosen to arrive at it.”

Founded Lyceum

335 BCE

Aristotle returned to Athens in 335 BCE to establish a school named Lyceum. Considering that he has no property in the area, he rented a space from a former wrestling school giving him the chance to deliver his thoughts. Moreover, he collected many manuscripts that led to one of the world's first great libraries.

Poetics

330 BCE

Aristotle illustrated poetry as a way to represent objects and events in one's surroundings through mimetic, or imitative, use of language, rhythm, and harmony, separately or combined. Creatively, it can also be a great source of learning since it describes reality, as Aristotle claimed ever since. Nowadays, the surviving versions of his poetry can be found in the form of tragedies and epics. "Poetry utters universal truths, history particular statements,” unfolds how realistic poetry is.

Aristotle's Death

322 BCE

After all of his greatest contributions and philosophies that have significantly changed many lives, he died in 322 BCE on Euboea Island, Greece because of a digestive disorder. A year before, he was exiled as a consequence of having anti-Macedonian sentiment. After his death, he has not been forgotten by many individuals, even up to these days.