Aristotle’s Philosophy and Contributions
Contextualization
Aristotle was born in 384 BC in Stagira, raised in a family of physicians. He taught at the Academy and was summoned by Philip to educate his son Alexander, who was influenced by the possibility of spreading Greek culture through uniting the people. Aristotle believed that man was a “zoon politikon” who needed to live in a community, and those who did not were considered either gods or animals. After Alexander’s death, Aristotle was accused of ungodliness and fled to Calcis, where he died.
In his political philosophy, Aristotle denies the possibility of a utopian state. He believed that each city-state has different circumstances that make it impossible to establish a single system. Therefore, each must find its own way and achieve stability by avoiding extremes. The best community, according to Aristotle, is a moderate one.
Nicomachean Ethics
Nicomachean Ethics represents the most mature writing of Aristotle’s moral thought. The work is characterized by the austerity of esoteric writings, with a focus on discussion and logic. It is divided into ten chapters and begins by exploring the relationship between good, happiness, and nature. Aristotle argues that there is a supreme good that guides all our activities: happiness.
The second book examines virtue, while the third analyzes specific moral virtues. The fourth book looks at other virtues, and the fifth is devoted to moral virtue and justice, defined as fitness to equality and the law.
The sixth book examines intellectual virtues, and the seventh addresses the issue of pleasure. The eighth book explores the theme of friendship, which continues in the ninth. The tenth book focuses on joy and happiness, analyzing the pleasures suitable for man and those that contribute to the perfection of human activity.
Aristotle’s Works
Most of Aristotle’s works are lost, but those that remain cover a wide range of subjects, including:
- Logic
- Physics (dealing with meteors and celestial bodies)
- Natural Sciences (animals, their parts, and their history)
- Psychology (the soul, memory)
- Ethics
- Politics
- Aesthetics
- Metaphysics
Aristotle’s Philosophy
Aristotle’s philosophy is a response to the problem of motion denied by Parmenides. Unlike Democritus, who proposed a materialistic view with atoms moving in a void, Aristotle argued that the void does not exist and that random motion is only a human perception. Throughout his Physics, he rejects the idea of random origin.
Departing from Plato’s idealism, Aristotle denies the World of Ideas. He argues that the sensible world inhabited by beings with “physis” and movement is what truly exists. Sensible things are real and not mere shadows. This collapses the unity between philosophy and politics proposed by Plato, who believed that philosophers should rule because they have knowledge of the World of Ideas.
Aristotle also rejects dialectic as a method of attaining knowledge and introduces a new concept of episteme, which is demonstrable but limited because its first principles are grasped by the intellect. He rejects Plato’s theory of reminiscence and proposes a new concept of epistemic as universal knowledge that begins with perception through the senses.
While Aristotle rejects the World of Ideas, he maintains Plato’s influence in his emphasis on the conception of science as knowledge of essences or forms. He assumes that there are essences and forms, demonstrating the continuing line of metaphysics inaugurated by Plato.
Hylomorphism
Aristotle’s philosophical current is realistic and empirical. He believes that reality is individual substance, and substances are the particular individuals we perceive with our senses. Ideal forms do not exist apart from the physical; there is only the individual. Every substance is a composite of matter and form.
- Matter: The material of which things are made.
- Form: That which makes a thing what it is.
Matter gives a thing its individuality, while form makes it a specific thing. Matter is formless, waiting to be informed by a specific form. These two components are inseparable in reality but can be separated theoretically. This theory is known as hylomorphism.
Context of Virtue
Aristotle’s views on virtue differed from those of the Sophists, who believed that virtue was not absolute and was teachable. Aristotle, like his teacher Plato, opposed the Sophists. He believed that some virtues are teachable, while others are not.
Aristotle’s Legacy
Aristotle’s empiricism and positivism have had a profound impact on Western thought. His rejection of innate ideas and emphasis on experience and the senses in the process of knowledge have influenced philosophers throughout history. His realistic and systematic approach, along with his observational perspective, was adopted by St. Thomas Aquinas, who incorporated Aristotle’s doctrine into his own theology.
Aristotle’s work and thought have covered a vast range of knowledge, influencing virtually every discipline. His contributions to logic are particularly noteworthy. His philosophy continues to be studied and debated today, a testament to its enduring relevance.