Aristotle's Teachings

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Aristotle is a well-known philosopher, who lived from 384 BC through 322 BC, having been born and spending most of his life in Greece. According to William Turner, in the Catholic Encyclopedia, his father was physician to the King of Macedonia, and other ancestors of Aristotle’s likely also held this position. Aristotle’s parents probably planned for him to receive a medical education so he also could become a physician, but both of his parents died while he was still a child. As he approached the age of 18, he was sent to school at the university of another great and well-known philosopher, Plato.

While Aristotle has been known throughout history for his accomplishments in mathematics, physics, and even arts, he also had some very complex and advanced teachings on what we would today call psychology. Many of his teachings on ethics and politics would fall under the study of psychology as well.

One of the most revolutionary ideas that Aristotle brought to the study of the mind, he also brought to many other studies. Ancient philosophers such as Plato relied heavily on intuition and pure speculation on topics ranging from physics to the study of human behavior. Aristotle though, taught the beginnings of the scientific method, that is learning based on examination, experimentation, and logic.

Aristotle felt that the soul, or the personality of a being, was not something that could be separated from the body. He believed that the soul was the result of the physical form of the body. This was a departure from the conventional teachings of his time. Aristotle’s peers taught that the soul was abstract and not concerned with the body, but Aristotle felt that anything that happens in the mind or personality (and ...

... middle of paper ...

...ndant on the level to which his companions show virtue in their lives.

Many of Aristotle’s teachings have shown remarkable insight into the human mind, especially considering the time in which he lived. Just as some of his teachings on physics were held as true for nearly 2000 years, many of his teachings on the human mind were well ahead of his time. His method of study and experimentation, followed by logical deduction are the basis for all sciences now, something which was completely new when he wrote of this approach.

Works Cited
Turner, William. (March 1, 1907) The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I, online edition. Retrieved February 2, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01713a.htm

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2001) Retrieved February 2, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/a/aristotl.htm

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