Biography of Aristotle: briefly about the ancient Greek philosopher

Aristotle is the greatest philosopher of ancient Greece, the creator of the peripatetic school, the scientist. Favorite pupil of Plato and mentor of the great commander Alexander of Macedon is also Aristotle.

Biography briefly for children: about youthful years

In 384 BC. E. In Stagir, a Greek colony near Mount Athos, Aristotle, one of the great philosophers of all time and people, was born.

The parents of the future scientist, who was often called Stagirite, were of noble origin. Nikomah, the father of the future scientist, a hereditary healer, served as a court physician and taught his heir to the basics of medical art and philosophy, at that time inseparable from medicine. Aristotle since childhood has been closely associated with the Macedonian court and knew his peer, the son of King Aminta III, Philippe.

As a child, Aristotle was orphaned and was in the care of a relative of Proxena. The latter laid on his shoulders cares for the young man: he helped in obtaining education, strongly encouraged the curiosity of a teenager, spent money on the purchase of books, which at that time were very expensive pleasure, almost a luxury. Favored by such expenses is the condition left after the death of the parents. Aristotle's biography, the brief content of which is of genuine interest to modern youth, truly inspires deep respect for this man, who has laid on his shoulders the responsibility for educating other people interested in the favorable future of his country.

Plato is my friend

The biography of Aristotle briefly tells how, with the aim of studying philosophy in 367 BC. E. Aristotle moved to Athens, where he remained for two decades. In the renowned Greek city, a young man entered the Academy, discovered by the great philosopher Plato. The mentor, drawing attention to the brilliant intellectual merits of the student, began to distinguish him among the other listeners.

Aristotle, however, gradually began to back away from the views and ideas of his teacher and rely on his own worldview. This did not really like Plato, but on the personal relationships of the two geniuses, the difference in views did not affect in any way. Most of all, the opinions of two great minds differed in the doctrine of ideas, which, Plato believed, formed a disembodied world. For his pupil Aristotle, ideas were merely the essence of the material phenomena taking place, clothed in these very ideas. Concerning this dispute, Aristotle sounded a well-known phrase, sounding in the abridged version as: "Plato is my friend, but the truth is more expensive." About the incredible respect of Aristotle to his beloved mentor Plato can be judged from the fact that a young man who already had a developed system of worldview, and therefore, the prerequisites for the organization of his philosophical school, did not do this during the life of the mentor.

Biography of Aristotle briefly describes that in 347 BC. After his departure to the world of another great teacher, his place as the head of the Academy was occupied by nephew Spevsip. Aristotle, who was among those dissatisfied with this circumstance, left Athens and, at the invitation of the tyrant Hermias (a disciple of Plato), went to the city of Assos, located in Asia Minor. Two years later, for active opposition to the Persian yoke, Hermias was betrayed and crucified, in connection with which Aristotle had to leave Assos in a hurry. Also fled Pifiada - a relative of Hermia, who later became the wife of the Greek philosopher. A refuge for a young couple was found in the city of Mytilene (island of Lesbos). It was here that Aristotle was asked to become the tutor of Philip's son, Alexander, at that time a 13-year-old teenager.

About the pupil of Aristotle

Aristotle's biography briefly shows that the influence of the Greek philosopher on the character of his disciple and the manner of his thoughts, after which the glory of the greatest commander was subsequently consolidated, was enormous.

Aristotle skillfully tempered the passion of the soul of the ward, guided the young man to serious thoughts, awakened noble aspirations to accomplish feats and glory, instilled a love for the "Iliad" - the book of Homer, which accompanied Macedon throughout his life. Alexander received a classical education, in which emphasis was placed on the study of politics and ethics. Also, the young commander was well versed in literature, medicine and philosophy.

Foundation of the school

Biography of Aristotle briefly states how the Greek philosopher, leaving with his Macedonian nephew Callisthenes, in 335 BC. E. Returned to Athens, where he founded the philosophical school Likey (lyceum), called otherwise "peripatetic" (from the "peripatos" - a covered gallery around the yard, a walk). This characterized the place of conducting lessons or the manner of the teacher in the process of presenting information - strolling back and forth. Representatives of the peripatetic school along with philosophy were engaged in different sciences: physics, geography, astronomy, history. The morning classes, called "acro-matic", were attended by the best-trained pupils, after lunch, anyone could listen to the philosopher.

This period in the biography of the Greek philosopher is a crucial stage, for it was during this time that a number of important discoveries were made in the process of research and an enormous amount of work was created that largely determined and directed the development of world science in the right direction. In those years, his wife Pifiada died. The second time Aristotle married her former slave Gerpillida.

last years of life

Biography Aristotle briefly and clearly describes that the ancient Greek philosopher, enthusiastically engaged in the world of science, was completely far from political events, but after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. E. In the country a wave of anti-Macedonian persecutions and repressions began, the sky thickened over the head of the Greek philosopher. Aristotle was charged with disrespect for the gods and blasphemy, which forced the scientist, who understood the bias of the coming trial, to depart with some disciples to Chalcis, to the island of Euboea, which was the last refuge in his life. The 62-year-old philosopher died of a hereditary stomach disease. On the post of the head of Likey Aristotle was replaced by his best pupil Theophrastus. The genus of the great scientist was continued by his daughter Pifiala (the son of Nikomakh, according to some assumptions, even in his young years was killed in the war).

Aristotle: a brief biography and his discoveries

There is an opinion that the great Aristotle was a short and sickly man. His speech was very quick and defective: the philosopher mixed some sounds, which did not detract from his grandiose contribution to science.

Like most thinkers of ancient times, Aristotle in addition to philosophy diligently engaged in various sciences and became the founder of some sections: logic, scientific rhetoric, grammar. Also, the great thinker established a large number of important facts in anatomy and zoology, he first created the philosophy of art and the theory of poetry. The most important and famous works of Aristotle are "Politics", "Metaphysics", "Poetics", "Physics". The philosophical system of the Greek enlightener touched various aspects of humanity and globally influenced the subsequent development of scientific thinking.

In geography Aristotle expressed the idea of the wholeness and boundlessness of the World Ocean. In biology, the scientist described about half a thousand species of animals and founded zoological systematics, the first in scientific history. Studying animals, he divided them into 2 groups: bloodless and animals with blood (at the head he put a person), which practically corresponds to today's concept: vertebrates and invertebrates. The great philosopher is considered the father of meteorology (for the first time this term was mentioned in the treatise on celestial phenomena).

Of all the works of Aristotle to date, only one-fourth of the works have reached. According to some assumptions, the rich library of the philosopher after his death passed to Theophrastus and his descendants, who, being uneducated people, dumped the books in boxes and closed them in the basement. Dampness and worms completed the work.