National History Day Topic Selection: Aristotle

Kris Pearce
Brasof 1 / Thompson 3
November 12, 2008

National History Day

History today is constantly being made, no matter where someone is. People in general change everyday and do not realize it. There are many people who don't take the time to wonder why they are put on this earth, or why they are walking in the shoes they are in today. Philosophy is a huge part of history, for it is history in itself; however, philosophy digs a bit deeper and challenges history. Over the thousands of years, many philosophers have been studying the world, wondering of their existence, of what is real and what is not, and studying the human mind along with behavior.
The word philosophy is of the Ancient Greek origin, and it means "love of knowledge and wisdom". Philosophy is something that has always held my interest, however the philosopher that appealed to me most was Aristotle.
Aristotle was born in Stageira, Chalcidice in 384 BC. His father was a physician to the kind of Mecadonia and when Aristotle was seven, he was sent to study at the academy. He there began as a student, only to move on to a researcher and then a teacher. He was a member of the aristocracy, which is a form of government. Aristocrats often saw themselves as the highest of society and that no other government was above them.
Aristotle’s personality could best be described as very complex. He believed everything had souls and everything was living; however some had more primitive souls. He believed plans had souls but only in the nutritive faculty.
Aristotle believes in imagination and says that imagination is a bridge between sense perception and intellect. However, he doesn’t relate imagination to memory because he feels imagination requires perception as a foundation and can lead to understanding; in turn, according to Aristotle, imagination can’t be reduced to any combination of “perception, belief, knowledge and intellect.”
He believes intellect is something only humans have and that other creatures lack. Aristotle believes that there are two kinds of intellect which are passive and active. Passive is intellect that a person has prior to experience and active intellect is intellect that someone gains after something happens.
One of Aristotle’s most famous quotes was that “For it was their curiosity that first led men to philosophize and that still leads them.” By saying this, he means that the curiosity for knowledge is the essence of philosophy and believes that all philosophers try to overcome ignorance and obtain knowledge to use it for good.
Aristotle believes that everything harvests a body, such as tables and other miscellaneous objects. He calls inanimate objects artificial and real bodies natural. He believes both of them have the ability to be moved. He believes that bodies are separate from the physical world.
In 335 BC, Aristotle traveled to Athens to start teaching his students. He was a student of Plato who died a few years earlier and he wanted to teach people everything he learned from Plato and things that he came up with himself. He lectured people on logic, physics, astronomy, zoology, metaphysics, theology, economics, meterology, ethics, rhetoric and poetics.
Not everything he taught was written by him and a lot of it was later rewritten by his followers. Aristotle spent thirteen years as a teacher and decided to write. He wrote mainly about logic, which consisted of the classification of notions, judgments and propositions, the syllogism, demonstration, the problematic syllogism and fallacies. He had logical treatises which was called the “Organon” which was the first systematic treatment of the laws of thought in relation to the knowledge.
The four causes were also derived from Aristotle’s doctrines, which falls under metaphysics. The material cause, the formal cause, the efficient cause, or the final cause which are still used today. Metaphysics is the science of being as a being which he discovered.
His practical philosophy was something he was exceptionally known for. It all started with one question: In what does happiness consist? Aristotle dared to question such things and had other people try to answer it and learn from it.
Aristotle has also written many books. He wrote books on Physical treatises, which were Physica, Physica Ausculatio, De Cocelo, and Meteorologica. He’s written books on biological and zoological treatises, which are “Historiae Animalium, De Generatione et Corruptione, De Generation Animalium and De Partibus Animalium. He’s written books on psychological and anthropological treatises, which are De Anima, De Sensu et Sensibilli, De Memoria et Reminiscentia, De Vita et Morte, De Longitudine and et Brevitate vitae. He’s written books on ethical and political treatises which is Ethica Nocomachea, and Politica. He’s also written books on poetical and rhetorical treatises which are De Poetica and De Rhetorica. Aristotle wrote everything in a different language and usually used either Syriac, Arabic or Latin to publish his works
Aristotle is important to history because he encouraged others to think with their own minds. One of his famous quotes was, “We must not listen to those who urge us to think human thoughts since we are human, and mortal thoughts since we are mortal; rather, we should as far as possible immortalize ourselves and do all we can to live by the finest element in us – for it Is small in bulk, it is far greater than anything else in power and worth.”
His ideas are still used today and when most people think of philosophy, they think of Aristotle and his works. All of his teachings came from him and in the beginning they were just considered “myths”, however other people would listen to him and start to believe his “myths” because they made sense. Aristotle has proven that if you have an idea, you can definitely put it to work.