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Aristotle

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Aristotle was a famous thinker from ancient Greece.

(Venice) Aristotele by Francesco Hayez in gallerie Accademia Venice
(Venice) Aristotele by Francesco Hayez in gallerie Accademia Venice

He was a polymath, which means he studied many different subjects. His work covered science, art, and how people live together. He is often called the first scientist because of his methods.

Many people believe his ideas helped start modern science. He wanted to understand how the world works through observation.

Aristotle used specific ways to study the world. He studied logic, which is the study of correct reasoning.

Modus Barbara Equations
Modus Barbara Equations

One famous method he used is called a syllogism. This is a way to build an argument using facts. He also looked at the "four causes" to explain things.

Aristotle's Four Causes of a Table
Aristotle's Four Causes of a Table

This helps us understand why an object exists or moves. He believed that to truly know something, you must study its causes.

His life began in 384 BC in Stagira.

Philosophenmosaik köln Aristoteles
Philosophenmosaik köln Aristoteles

His father, Nicomachus, was a doctor for a king. This likely made Aristotle interested in biology and medicine. At age eighteen, he moved to Athens to study with Plato.

Rembrandt - Aristotle with a Bust of Homer - WGA19232
Rembrandt - Aristotle with a Bust of Homer - WGA19232

He stayed at Plato's Academy for nearly twenty years. After Plato died, Aristotle left Athens to tutor a young boy. That boy was Alexander the Great, who became a famous leader.

Aristotle eventually returned to Athens to start his own school.

20160518 092 mieza nympheum
20160518 092 mieza nympheum

He called his school the Lyceum. It had a large library filled with many books.

He wrote hundreds of books on scrolls made of papyrus. These books covered topics like physics, plants, and politics. Only about one third of his original writings still exist today. Many were meant as notes for his students rather than for the public.

His ideas changed how people thought for hundreds of years.

Ibn Bakhtīshūʿ, Kitāb naʿt al-ḥayawān probably Baghdad, c. 1225. London, British Library, Or. 2784, A student sitting with Aristotle (right)
Ibn Bakhtīshūʿ, Kitāb naʿt al-ḥayawān probably Baghdad, c. 1225. London, British Library, Or. 2784, A student sitting with Aristotle (right)

In the Middle Ages, Muslim scholars called him "The First Teacher." Christian thinkers also studied his work very closely. The poet Dante even called him "the master of those who know." His work on logic stayed important until the 1800s. Even today, people still talk about his ideas on ethics and virtue.

Global thinking
Global thinking

He remains a huge part of human history.

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🖼️ Images & Media (42)
File:Aristotle's constitutions.svg
Aristotle's constitutions.svg
File:Aristotle's Four Causes of a Table.svg
Aristotle's Four Causes of a Table.svg
File:Platonic and Aristotelian Forms.svg
Platonic and Aristotelian Forms.svg
File:Aristotle Senses Perception Memory Dreams Action.svg
Aristotle Senses Perception Memory Dreams...
File:Aristotle's laws of motion.svg
Aristotle's laws of motion.svg
File:Two of Aristotle's Growth Laws.svg
Two of Aristotle's Growth Laws.svg
File:Four Classical Elements in Burning Log.svg
Four Classical Elements in Burning Log.svg
File:Speaker Icon.svg
Speaker Icon.svg
File:Global thinking.svg
Global thinking.svg
File:Modus Barbara Equations.svg
Modus Barbara Equations.svg
File:(Venice) Aristotele by Francesco Hayez in gallerie Accademia Venice.jpg
(Venice) Aristotele by Francesco Hayez in...
File:Aerial image of Stromboli (view from the northeast).jpg
Aerial image of Stromboli (view from the...

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