EducationHistory

Who is Aristotle? What is famous for, biography, contribution to science

The origin of Aristotle is inextricably linked with Macedonia. In 384 BC. E., when he was born, this state was on its way to its own flourishing. Here was the city where Aristotle was born. The philosopher's biography began in a place called Stagir (there are also variants of writing "Stagira" or "Stagira"). According to the then tradition, the second name, formed from the native city, was assigned to people. Therefore Aristotle is also known as Stagirite.

A family

He was born on the peninsula of Chalkidiki. Now it is the north of Greece, and then it was the outskirts of the whole Hellenistic world. Nearby was the wild Thrace. Here there lived a mixed population, since during the years of the existence of the colonies the barbarians mingled with the alien Greeks. But Aristotle was a pureblooded descendant of the inhabitants of Attica. His father Nikomah was a famous physician who lived at the court of the Macedonian king.

His profession was highly respected and appreciated in Antiquity. The Greeks generally believed that all the doctors were descended from the god Asclepius. Therefore the family of the philosopher was noble and famous. The thinker himself took these views and also considered himself a distant descendant of Asclepius. All this seems naive, but at that time such views were extremely common. Therefore it is not surprising that Aristotle managed to unite in himself a deep mind and faith in the popular cult of the Olympic gods.

Appearance in Athens

The evidence of contemporaries about the appearance of the thinker is preserved. In his youth, he was a man of unattractive appearance. At the age of 17 he first visited Athens, the cultural and political center of Greece. About this period there are rather sketchy information. It is believed that the young man was then engaged in the fact that he was spending his father's legacy, engaged in quackery and even was in the military service. Trading in medical drugs, he was first surrounded by philosophers, with whom he participated in disputes.

The Academy of Plato

Who is Aristotle? He became famous for his intellectual work. A good ground for this was the Academy, where he got to the 18th year of his life. There he quickly became one of the main students of another great philosopher, Plato. The famous fresco of Raphael "The Athenian School" depicts these two thinkers during a lively debate, which is attended by all the students of the Academy.

It is here that the young man begins to engage in theoretical research, and also writes his first literary works. The first genre he mastered is philosophical dialogues. This was done following the example of the teacher of Plato, who also began with this kind of scripture.

One of the most famous dialogues of that period is "Eudemus, or About the Soul." In it, Aristotle tells of the fate of one of the disciples of Plato, expelled from the Academy.

Oratory

In addition, in order to understand who Aristotle is, it is important to note that the earliest activity in the Academy included the development of rhetoric. The ability to speak to people and communicate their thoughts to them was very much appreciated in ancient Greece. Therefore, the philosopher was engaged not only in theory, but also constantly lectured, including at the Academy, where he was considered an unrivaled master of this art. His talent was noted by many speakers of subsequent eras, including Cicero, who recognized the enormous influence of Aristotle on his own views.

Break with the Platonists

In 347, Plato died. With him Aristotle had a huge number of divergences in views, but it was the senior teacher who was his main guardian and support. The thinker could not find a common language with the other students of the Academy. Shortly before that, the Macedonian king Philip had destroyed the philosopher Stagir's hometown, after which he lost two of his immediate interests. So soon Aristotle left Athens and went to Asia Minor. This happened during his internal crisis.

Even then, a lot of works were written that united the philosophy of Aristotle. In short, they were collected by Andronicus of Rhodes after the author's death and combined into "Metaphysics."

Teacher Alexander

The first time after the move, he stayed in the cities of Assos and Mytilene, which were mentioned in his own letters. Next was the island of Lesbos, where Aristotle's writings consisted of teaching. This activity did not go unnoticed, and the philosopher was invited to the court of Philip of Macedon, who was looking for a teacher for Alexander's son. This young man was the commander, who in the future conquered half of the ancient world.

Despite the fact that Aristotle was born in Macedonia, he was always considered a Greek. The Thinker sincerely believed that the greatness of the Hellenistic culture could cover all the neighboring countries. At this time the Greeks lived much richer and more comfortable than their numerous neighbors. The education of citizens has become the foundation for a new kind of society.

All these advantages were recognized by Aristotle. The books of the philosopher continue this thought. The only thing that Greece lacked for unification and expansion, in his opinion, was a strong and strong-willed king. It was he who saw the philosopher in the young man Alexander. Aristotle set about the regular and comprehensive education of the boy.

The philosopher positively influenced both the king and his son. So, for example, he often pacified the wrath of the quick-tempered Alexander, who tried to listen to the teacher's opinion. From Aristotle, he adopted not only philosophical and oratorical knowledge, but also interest in natural sciences, including medicine, in which he was perfectly oriented for his era. In his campaigns, Alexander always had a copy of the Iliad, which was made for him by Aristotle.

Likey

In 336 BC, King Philip was killed by a traitor among his bodyguards. Alexander had to stand at the head of the state, after which he did not have time to study. Therefore, Athens was again the place where Aristotle settled. Biography of the philosopher made a circle and returned to the starting point. But he did not become a teacher at the Academy, as before. The reason for this was the numerous discrepancies with the students of Plato who ran these institutions.

Therefore, in Athens, a new school - Lycee, whose head was Aristotle. Books of the thinker and his glory of the teacher attracted a huge number of students. The name of the institution was adopted because of the proximity of the temple of Apollo of Likey. As you can guess, the word "lyceum" has gone from here.

Comparison with the Academy

Likey and the Academy have become two rival centers of ancient education. At the same time they had a similar structure. For example, Likey was associated with the god Apollo, and the Academy had a temple of Athena. Each school had its own gymnasium. It was a special institution, where they taught the basics of literacy, and also engaged in physical training. In ancient Greece, the cult of a healthy lifestyle and sport flourished. Many philosophers were athletes, and some even performed at the Olympics.

What Aristotle is famous for is his attention to health problems, because he was also a doctor. The Academy was located in the north-western suburbs of Athens, while Likey was located in the east of the city next to the Diocharov Gates. These places were known for their sources with clean drinking water. Aristotle's ideas inspired his student Antisthenes to found another school nearby. It was Kinosarg.

The order of the day for the philosopher and head of the school was systematic. In the mornings, he conducted classes with a selected circle of his own students, distinguished by talent and a keen mind.

Then followed a dinner with friends, where scientists were also conducted conversations, for which even the rules were drafted. For example, once in ten days the chairman of such "meetings" changed. Toward evening the teacher conducted an extended lecture or a lesson in oratory for a wide range of listeners.

In Likey there was a huge library that attracted curious students. It has not survived until our days, but the surviving works written in Likey have a huge amount of references to other authors and works. This is not surprising, if you remember who Aristotle is for the then Greece. He was the teacher of Alexander, and he was his patron and sponsor. Macedonian gold was bought the rarest and most valuable books, which were not even in the Platonists Academy.

Policy

During the years of his life in Likey Aristotle wrote one of the most famous of his treatises on the state. It was called "Politics". It contains the foundations of the theory of state governance , as well as issues of slavery, citizenship, the family as a constituent of society, etc. Aristotle's writings were aimed at formulating the structure of an ideal policy.

The treatise is divided into 8 books. Each of them covers a specific issue of state structure. The author developed the ideas of Plato, for example, compared democracy and oligarchy, and also talked about the education of youth. All this covered the philosophy of Aristotle. In short, he examined the causes of conflict in society and tyranny. Also, the writer first proposed to divide the power into three parts: judicial, official and legislative. That is, this is the system that now exists in many states. If Aristotle is famous, then the definition of the most balanced and successful system of society management.

The flight from Athens and death

In 323 BC Alexander the Great died . It happened in Babylon - its new capital. For the first time, going to the east, the king never returned to his homeland or even to Greece. He reached the limits of India. His new power united many nations. Hellenism was imposed on all of them. However, the Greeks themselves treated the Macedonians badly.

Therefore, after the death of Alexander in Athens, nationalist speeches began. Aristotle was under the patronage of the king. But after his departure from life, the old thinker could not live peacefully in the capital of a revolting Greece. Despite the fact that the philosopher worked tirelessly at his school and did not leave Athens during these years, he was still considered a stranger because of Macedonian origin.

Even Likey was not his property in the strict sense of the word all this time. The land did not belong to the philosopher, since he was not an Athenian citizen. If ignorant citizens asked who Aristotle was, they were told that it was a stranger. Such was the harsh reality.

The years of Aristotle's life ended on the island of Euboea, where he decided to move in search of peace and seclusion. This happened in 322, that is, only a year after the abandonment of Athens. There is an unconfirmed version that the philosopher who was in deep crisis poisoned himself with the help of aconite. This is a poisonous plant, the smallest dose of which extract can lead to cardiac arrest.

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