THE PHILOSOPHY OF ARISTOTLE

THE PHILOSOPHY OF ARISTOTLE (384 to 322 BC)


Aristotle
Aristotle was by far the most prolific writer of philosophy with over 500 known books and lecture notes. He introduced rational and skeptical thinking at a time people believed in the Greek Gods. Instead of blind faith, he insisted on the virtue of reason.

Aristotle produced a system of thinking called  Logic. It codified a way to ask the proper questions and how to avoid logical fallacies in reasoning.

The way we know anything about the universe is to ask the right questions and by eliminating bad judgments and dismiss those that do not pass the test of scrutiny. Logic was in part based upon what was called the art of Socratic questioning.

Things that rang untrue included appeals to ignorance, ancient texts, emotional appeals and confusing correlation with confirmation.

In essence, Aristotle’s framework of questions and study was the beginnings of the Scientific Method.

It was important to the ancient Greeks to deeply inquire as to the nature of all things. They were able to admit error and allow others to question their intuitions. With these tools of reasoning, schools of philosophy called the Lyceum sprang up all over Greece. Aristotle went on to research the birth of chicks and the biology and evolution of plants. People started to ask the right questions, admit to error and for the first time get a grasp at knowing the universe without the influence of the Gods of Mount Olympus. Poseidon and Zeus were not behind the lightning bolts. Only random natural elements were at play; elements that could be studied. The Universe became knowable.


Aristotle went on to codify the 5 branches of Philosophy that we use to this today.

Each branch asks a different important question:
Epistemology or Physics: What can we know?
Ethics: How do I promote the greater good? And, what is that good?
Metaphysics: What are the unseen forces?
Politics: How to order society?
Aesthetics: What is beautiful and how to live the good life?