Preview

Aristotle: Life, Teachings, And The Foundations He Set

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1267 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Aristotle: Life, Teachings, And The Foundations He Set
Aristotle: Life, Teachings, And The Foundations He Set

By Sarah Tyria
04/29/2013
Philosophy Research Paper
Robert Badra

Philosophy derived from two Greek words, “philos” and “sophia”, which translates to mean love of wisdom. It is “a quest for truth” where truth and knowledge become obtainable through wondering minds and the consistent asking questions. (Theme One) Aristotle wrote, “Philosophy begins when we look at the world and wake up to the depth of our not-knowing. The result is an ‘awesome feeling of ignorance’, and we are driven to seek answers by looking steadily at the world, thinking carefully, and asking the right questions.” (Christian pg. 35) Known as a true scientist, Aristotle had “an honest mind seeking empirical data from which to build explanatory hypotheses”. (Christian pg. 73) He was also a true philosopher, “a wonderer who surrendered lovingly to his curiosity about life.” (Christian pg. 73) Having developed a number of abstract concepts from observation, he became one of the most influential philosophers. Aristotle lived a very intriguing life, provided immaculate insight through his teachings, resulting in the core of several areas of the sciences that remain applicable today. Three supreme moments illustrate Aristotle’s life. The first of these is that he was the first student of Plato. At 17, Aristotle traveled to Athens where he enrolled in the Academy under Plato’s instruction. For 20 years, he studied at the Academy, during which Plato dubbed him “The Brain” and “The Bookworm” for his love of learning and passion for books. At age 38, Aristotle left the Academy having fully absorbed Plato’s teachings. However, Aristotle held different beliefs and ended up forming his own empirical worldview. (Christian pg. 69) Shortly after leaving the Academy, Aristotle was summoned by King Phillip to teach his son Alexander (later known as “Alexander the Great”. This is the second supreme moment of



Bibliography: Adler, Mortimer J. Ph.D. Aristotle 's Ethics: The Theory of Happiness-I. n.d. 28 April 2013 . "Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.)." n.d. Introduction to Aristotle. 28 April 2013 . Badra, Robert. "Theme Four: The Theory of Knowledge (Epistemology)." n.d. —. "Theme One: The Art of Wondering." n.d. Christian, James L. Philosophy: An Introduction to The Art of Wondering. 11th. n.d.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Though Aristotle does not explicitly speak of meaning, he surely considered the reality of impartial values and meaning. While his primary concern was on the happiness gained by accounting for these values, he does not say that the happy life means the meaningful. However, we can infer that he thought that the good life and the meaningful life are equals. Therefore, Aristotle’s plan in order to live a good life is understandable, and is a guide to a meaningful life.…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle Research Paper

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Aristotle is well known for his teachings to the son of the king of Macedonia at the time, Philip. The king's son was named Alexander; now known as Alexander the Great. When Alexander became king of Macedonia, Aristotle left for Athens where he began lecturing at…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion, Aristotle’s teachings are still around today and what started as just another student of Plato, has turned into one of the greatest philosophers ever in the world. So although he suffered through hardships, he never would have become who he was without those hurdles. He is someone that made the most of his life and I hope to do the same with mine. Although some of his theories were wrong, the ones that were correct were groundbreaking for the time and he will always be remembered as one of the greatest philosophers…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aristotle: Greek philosopher; teacher of Alexander the Great; knowledge based on observation of phenomena in material world.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Phi 160

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Aristotle one of a great thinkers left a great philosophical logic that is still being learned today. Born in Stagira, Greece Aristotle started as a student of Plato to become a tutor of Alexander the Great. In Nicomachean Ethics, book written by Aristotle’s, he explains virtues and how happiness is the means by which human beings have moral virtues. The debate whether virtue or vice should determine happiness is what Aristotle simplifies for us. Happiness should be determined by the activities human beings, virtuous or not, do in order to be happy within themselves.…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Louis P. Pojman's Analysis

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Aristotle was Plato’s prize pupil who discussed the types of moments where moral correctness may be applied to certain events, nature of virtues involved in the sound morality of humans as well as the ways to achieve happiness in one’s life. The overall question that Aristotle tends to ask himself and try to answer is the question that pertains to human character and personality, what do we as humans need to do, to be considered as a good person. Aristotle explained that every activity has a final cause and purpose at which it aims to achieve and he argued that since there is not an infinite amount of goods, there has to be one type of good that is the highest and most important which humans strive towards. He continues to describe this ultimate good and decided that it could be called happiness, however the only puzzling question left is, what is happiness? Due to its existence in so many forms it is tough to describe happiness as one true thing…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Books 9-11 of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle works to segregate the explanations of happiness as a result of fortune and happiness as a result of virtuous actions. However, after he reaches an ideologically pure explanation, he quickly pivots backwards, settling on an explanation that incorporates elements of both theories. This allows posthumous events to affect one’s state of happiness, impacts his definition of happiness, and exemplifies the text’s ideological inclusion.…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Oedipus Rex Research Paper

    • 2415 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Bibliography: Aristotle. "Aristotle - Poetics." The Works of Aristotle at LibertyOnline. 1999. http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/Aristotle/Poetics.html (accessed May 3, 2012).…

    • 2415 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Aristotle Research Paper

    • 2045 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Aristotle (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and a student of Plato, considered first scientist in Western world. He was a philosopher of common sense. He tried to define essences and his aim is to explicate the world as well as cosmos surrounding us. According to Introduction of Metaphysics, Aristotle's world-view is teleological that there is kind of purpose in cosmos: " What is important is that the world seems to have a purpose, a meaning and even a design. It is an ordered structure, a cosmos, and it may even manifest the invention of a Creator." (p. xvii)…

    • 2045 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle

    • 901 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The statement argues that Aristotle’s theory of the four causes is impossible to apply to everyday life and cannot be applied to the real world. Aristotle believed there are four causes that determine what things are and their purpose and claims this is how we differentiate one thing from another. These four causes are known as the material cause, the efficient cause, the formal cause and most importantly for Aristotle, the final cause, and these together describe how ‘things’ transform from the state of actuality to potentiality. To some extent the theory of the four causes could be accurate and plausible, however, some of the ideas behind it is flawed and unrealistic. In this essay I will cover the three main faults of Aristotle’s theory. Namely, its lack of clarity, that the theory is based on assumptions and that there is no evidence to support the existence of the prime mover.…

    • 901 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Kraut, Richard. "Aristotle 's Ethics." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 17 July 2007. Stanford University. 27 Apr. 2008 <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/>.…

    • 1841 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Help

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages

    References: Aristotle. (2010). Happiness and the Virtues. In J. Kozyrev (Ed.), Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life. Clark Baxter.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism establish different views on where an individual’s happiness comes from. Aristotle believes that happiness comes from virtue, while John Stuart Mill believes in the Greatest Happiness Principle, which states that pleasure and absence of pain are what make up someone’s happiness. Happiness is a topic discussed in great detail in both works with both individuals presenting different viewpoints.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle's Ideas

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Every Who Down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot… But Aristotle from Greece, well he did not! Aristotle hated Christmas, the entire Christmas season, Because the happiness he saw it did not stand to his reason. “They call this time happy, and It angers me a lot, Because happiness is only earned through a great deal of wrought.…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Philosophy is an academic subject that exercises reason and logic in an attempt to understand reality and answer fundamental questions about knowledge, life, morality, virtue, and human nature. The original word for philosophy comes from the ancient Greek word philosopha, which means love of wisdom. Although Socrates himself never claimed to have any answers to the questions he raised, his views and methods of philosophy became the foundations of what philosophy is today. Socrates actually wrote nothing, because he felt that knowledge was something to be gained by living and interacting in the world. So most of what we do know about Socrates comes from the writings of another very important person in Greek history, Plato. Socrates’ philosophy was based on pursuit of truth through the questioning of beliefs, virtue being defined as knowledge and talking about the elements that make up a good life.…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays