Aristotle's Life: Greek Philosopher, Educator, and Scientist

Aristotle’s Life Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, educator, and scientist, and was also one of the most influential thinkers in Western culture (World Book 663). Through his writings, Aristotle considered, summarized, criticized, and helped to further develop many of these traditions from which he had learned from Plato, his teacher. He was born in Stagira, and both of his parents died when he was a boy. His legal guardian named Proxenus raised him (World Book 663). At the age of 18 years of age, Aristotle entered Plato’s school in Athens called the Academy. When Plato died in 347 BC, Aristotle left the Academy to live with some of Plato’s disciples who were living with Hermeias. In 334 BC, he returned to Athens and founded a school called the Lyceum (World Book 663). His school, philosophy, and his followers were called peripatetic, which is Greek for walking. The reason for this name was because Aristotle did most of his teaching while he was walking with his students. After Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC, Aristotle was charge with impiety by the Athenians, which was a similar crime that was brought upon another philosopher, Socrates. Worried that he would be set to death for this charge, Aristotle fled to the city of Chalcis. A year after his arrival in Chalcis, Aristotle died (World Book 663). Aristotle’s Physics Aristotle work on basically all of the basic known subjects (Math, Science, Literature, English, Ethic, etc…). He also made his contribution in the field of Physics and Metaphysics (means after physics). Aristotle’s Physics is composed of several books and each is broken up into different parts of physics. In Aristotle’s Physics, he thinks that natural objects are substances, and that they consist of both matter and form. Matter and form cannot be separated from one another (Internet). He goes on to explain that all substances have within each one of us, is the origin of our change and movement.