Aristotle
AUTHOR

Aristotle

Politics & Social Sciences | Literature & Fiction | History
Tap the gear icon above to manage new release emails.
Aristotle (/ˈærɪˌstɒtəl/; Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης [aristotélɛːs], Aristotélēs; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, whereafter Proxenus of Atarneus became his guardian. At eighteen, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven (c. 347 BC). His writings cover many subjects – including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, linguistics, politics and government – and constitute the first comprehensive system of Western philosophy. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip of Macedon, tutored Alexander the Great starting from 343 BC. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "Aristotle was the first genuine scientist in history ... [and] every scientist is in his debt." Teaching Alexander the Great gave Aristotle many opportunities and an abundance of supplies. He established a library in the Lyceum which aided in the production of many of his hundreds of books. The fact that Aristotle was a pupil of Plato contributed to his former views of Platonism, but, following Plato's death, Aristotle immersed himself in empirical studies and shifted from Platonism to empiricism. He believed all peoples' concepts and all of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. Aristotle's views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works. Aristotle's views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their influence extended into the Renaissance and were not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics. Some of Aristotle's zoological observations, such as on the hectocotyl (reproductive) arm of the octopus, were not confirmed or refuted until the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, which was incorporated in the late 19th century into modern formal logic. In metaphysics, Aristotelianism profoundly influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophical and theological thought during the Middle Ages and continues to influence Christian theology, especially the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. Aristotle was well known among medieval Muslim intellectuals and revered as "The First Teacher" (Arabic: المعلم الأول‎). His ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotle's philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today. Though Aristotle wrote many elegant treatises and dialogues – Cicero described his literary style as "a river of gold" – it is thought that only around a third of his original output has survived. Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Copy of Lysippus (Jastrow (2006)) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Read more Read less

Try Audible membership today. Start enjoying the benefits.

Try Audible for free with an audiobook of your choice.
Try Premium Plus free
Automatically renews at AUD $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Poetics

Most popular
View Details

Most Popular

Product list
  • Nicomachean Ethics cover art

    Non-member price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Metaphysics cover art

    Non-member price: $40.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $40.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Poetics cover art

    Non-member price: $16.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $16.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • The Nicomachean Ethics cover art

    Non-member price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Rhetoric cover art

    Non-member price: $23.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $23.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Rhetoric and Poetics cover art

    Non-member price: $30.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $30.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Rhetoric, Poetics and Logic cover art

    Non-member price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Organon cover art

    • Organon

    • By: Aristotle
    • Narrated by: Peter Noble
    • Length: 22 hrs and 45 mins
    • Release date: 28-09-2018
    • Language: English
    • 4 out of 5 stars 1 rating

    Non-member price: $51.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $51.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Nicomachean Ethics cover art

    Non-member price: $11.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $11.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Physics cover art

    • Physics

    • By: Aristotle
    • Narrated by: Peter Wickham
    • Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
    • Release date: 06-03-2019
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 3 ratings

    Non-member price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Aristotle's Poetics cover art

    Non-member price: $12.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $12.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Politics cover art

    Non-member price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • How to Tell a Story cover art

    Non-member price: $15.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $15.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Ethics cover art

    Non-member price: $38.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $38.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Poetics/Rhetoric cover art

    Non-member price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $26.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Poetics cover art

    Non-member price: $12.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $12.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Politics cover art

    Non-member price: $11.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $11.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • On the Soul & Parva Naturalia cover art

    Non-member price: $32.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $32.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Grandes de la filosofia [Greats of Philosophy] cover art

    Non-member price: $20.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $20.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00
  • On Sense and the Sensible cover art

    Non-member price: $8.99 or 1 Credit

    Sale price: $8.99 or 1 Credit

    Try for $0.00