Some of Aristotle's zoological observations, such as on the hectocotyl (reproductive) arm of the octopus, were not confirmed or refuted until the 19th century. Their influence extended into the Renaissance and were not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics. Aristotle's views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works.Īristotle's views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. He believed all peoples' concepts and all of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. The fact that Aristotle was a pupil of Plato contributed to his former views of Platonism, but, following Plato's death, Aristotle immersed himself in empirical studies and shifted from Platonism to empiricism. He established a library in the Lyceum which aided in the production of many of his hundreds of books.

Teaching Alexander the Great gave Aristotle many opportunities and an abundance of supplies. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Aristotle was the first genuine scientist in history. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip of Macedon, tutored Alexander the Great starting from 343 BC. His writings cover many subjects – including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, linguistics, politics and government – and constitute the first comprehensive system of Western philosophy. At eighteen, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven (c. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, whereafter Proxenus of Atarneus became his guardian. The AuthorĪristotle (Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης, Aristotélēs 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. Citations of this work, as with the rest of the works of Aristotle, are often made by referring to the Bekker section numbers. The title of the Politics literally means the things concerning the polis.Īristotle's Politics is divided into eight books which are each further divided into chapters.

The end of the Nicomachean Ethics declared that the inquiry into ethics necessarily follows into politics, and the two works are frequently considered to be parts of a larger treatise, or perhaps connected lectures, dealing with the philosophy of human affairs. Politics (Greek: Πολιτικά) is a work of political philosophy by Aristotle, a 4th-century BC Greek philosopher.

Politics by Aristotle