Who was Aristotle?

Aristotle, a contemporary of the prominent fourth century BCE Macedonian king Phillip II and his even more famous son, Alexander the Great, profoundly shaped scholarship in ways that are perhaps unrivaled by any other human being.

Aristotle’s views extended well beyond late Antiquity spanning all the way to the Renaissance and beyond, in many cases only being seriously challenged in the 19th century.

Philosopher, educator and polymath, Aristotle’s views spanned subjects such as physics, biology, astronomy, logic, ethics, politics and metaphysics.

Yet Aristotle’s observations are not without their criticisms as modern scholars have proven that many of his theories, such as his views on astronomy, are wrong despite going essentially unchallenged until the scientific revolution.

His views on physical science in particular were only seriously challenged during the Enlightenment.

Amongst other aspects of his thinking, he introduced the earliest study of logic and his influence on this subject lasted well into the 19th century. Aristotle also influenced medieval Islamic and Christian theology.

Such scholars as Thomas Aquinas referred to him as “the philosopher” while Islamic writers referred to him as the “the first teacher”.

Additionally his ethics have actually acquired new proponents today through the field of virtue ethics and have support with such thinkers as Alasdair MacIntyre and Phillipa Foot.

Aristotle was believed to have produced a predominant amount of his works between 335 and 323 BCE of which most were dialogues from which only fragments now survive and were not for the most part meant for widespread publication. Aristotle, whose own father served as personal physician to Amyntas III (d. 370 BCE) of Macedonia, would later serve as tutor to the most famous son and successor of Phillip II (382–336), Alexander the Great (356–332).

Although it is uncertain how much influence Aristotle exerted over his famous student, it is clear that relations between the two soured when it became clear to Aristotle that Alexander was growing exceedingly fond of Persian culture.

In short Aristotle influenced a myriad of fields, shaping the very questions that were asked about them for over two millennia and has since proven himself one of the greatest minds produced by western civilization.