Aristotle: biography of one of the referents of Greek philosophy

It is impossible to understand philosophy without talking about Aristotle, one of the most important and pioneering figures in this field.

The postulates of this classical Greek thinker continue to be a fundamental pillar in current studies of philosophy, even though more than two thousand years have passed since his death. With this article we will make a brief review of the life of this Greek philosopher through a biography of Aristotle in summary format.

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Brief biography of Aristotle

Aristotle is and has been one of the most important philosophers and researchers in the history of mankind, at least as regards Western culture and the Islamic world. In fact, Aristotle is considered one of the main precedents of modern science, and during decades the study of nature was, in part, linked to the reading and interpretation of his work written. Here we will see a summary of his life.

Birth of Aristotle, youth and period in the Academy

In the year 384 a. C., in the city of Estagira (located in the north of Ancient Greece, where Stavros is located today) Aristotle was born, a man who was destined to change, not only philosophy, but all branches of knowledge of the time. The son of Nicómaco, an important doctor of the time, who even treated King Amyntas III of Macedonia, which helped him to establish relations with the court. As for his mother, Festis, she was also one of the Asclepians, the physicians of the time.

As Aristotle's father was the monarch's physician, he spent the first years of his life in the city of Pella. However, Aristotle lost his parents while still a child, so his guardianship passed to Proxeno de Atarneo, a city to which he moved until he was 17 years old.. It is at that age when they decide the next step, which would mark the rest of his life, but also that of the to know of all the western civilization that would come after: Aristotle entered the Academy of Athens.

Of course, It is in the Academy where Aristotle meets his teacher, Plato, another of the key figures of Greek philosophy. The next two decades of his life would be spent acquiring new knowledge, learning from the teachings of Plato and other teachers, or debating with other students. But, without a doubt, what he liked the most was reading. Not surprisingly, his teacher affectionately referred to him as "the Reader", because he always found writings in his hands in an inexhaustible desire to learn more and more.

One of the teachers who initially influenced Aristotle's thoughts was Eudoxus. However, he preferred Plato's approaches, since in those of Eudoxus he observed contradictions. Other schoolgirls who shared knowledge with Aristotle were Philip of Opunte or Espeusipo. Already at this time Aristotle wrote some of his important works, such as the Exhortations or Protrepticus. Unfortunately, only some parts are preserved and not the entire creation.

In the year 347 a. C., Plato dies. This triggers Aristotle, after 20 years of study at the Academy, to leave this place and move to Atarneo and Aso, city ​​that Hermias ruled, with whom Aristotle shared studies years before when he was also a student at the Academy of Athens. At this time he also married Pythias of Aso, whom he met for being Hermias's own niece, and who later became the mother of his first daughter.

Later, Hermias was assassinated, so, again, Aristotle set out to a new place, this time being the island of Lesbos, and more specifically the city of Mytilene. It was in this place where he developed his works on zoology and also on marine biology, with the collaboration of Theophrastus, another philosopher and also a botanist.

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Master of Alexander the Great

The popularity that Aristotle had already achieved at this time was such that King Philip II of Macedonia himself asked him to settle again in Pella, nothing less than to be the mentor of his son, Alexander the Great, who was then 13 years old. So during the next two years, Aristotle instilled the knowledge of all branches of knowledge in the future conqueror, being key to the formation of his thought.

Fortunately, the correspondence between Alexander the Great and Aristotle was immortalized for posterity, and it was through the work Life and Exploits of Alexander of Macedon, written by Pseudo Callisthenes, which although not documented, could be Callisthenes from Olinto, the nephew of Alexander the Great. After two years of teaching, and having the future monarch to begin his military training, Aristotle ended the tutelage of Alexander the Great.

It should be noted that in that period Aristotle did not limit himself to sharing his knowledge with such a distinguished student, but rather he was also the teacher of Cassander and Ptolemy, who would also become kings, the first of Macedonia and the second of Egypt, so Aristotle was the mentor of a whole generation of young people who would end up becoming the rulers of some of the most important nations of that time.

Creation of the Lyceum in Athens

Once that stage is over, Aristotle returns to the capital of Greece, Athens, to create the Lyceum, his own school. This name comes from the god Apollo Lycian, and is that the Lyceum school was built in an area that served to honor this deity. In contrast to the Academy, Aristotle decided to impart all his teachings publicly, and without receiving a economic retribution in return, and the Academy was a private center, reserved for the children of the most important families from Greece.

It is in the Lyceum where Aristotle generates the bulk of his work, which, as in the other cases, has not fully reached our time, thus preserving only some fragmented parts of various volumes, among them his famous dialogues. Aristotle gathers in the Lyceum a huge quantity of volumes with which it would make up a majestic library, with which your students would have the opportunity to obtain invaluable knowledge.

Aristotle's followers were known by the curious name of peripatetics, or peripatetic school, which meant itinerant or itinerant in ancient Greek, a name that came from the action of debating while walking through the gardens of the Lyceum. From the school of the Peripatetics some of the most brilliant students of Aristotle would emerge, such as Aristoxeno, Eudemo de Rhodes, Dicearco de Messina, Fanias de Ereso, or Clearco de Solos.

Second woman and last years

During the stage of Aristotle's teachings at the Lyceum, Pythias de Aso, his wife, passed away. After the loss of her, Aristotle rebuilds his life with another woman, Herpilis de Stagira. There is some debate between whether she really was his wife or whether she was a slave (it must be remembered that slavery was common at that time). With Herpilis he had at least one other son, named Nicomachus, to whom Aristotle would dedicate one of his best-known works: the Nicomachean Ethics or Nicomachean ethics, one of the most important pieces on ethics.

In the year 323 a. C. Alexander the Great dies, which had other repercussions, such as Macedonian citizens were not well regarded in Athens, and more someone like Aristotle, who had even been the monarch's mentor. Therefore, he made the decision to leave the city and move to Chalcis, a city located on the island of Euboea. It would be the last location in which Aristotle would live, since here he passed away just a year later, when he was 61 years old.

Although the causes of his death are not entirely clear, it seems that Aristotle suffered from an ailment that affected his digestive system and could be the one that triggered his death. As for the location of his grave, it is believed that it would be found in Estagira itself, the place where he was born, after studies of excavations carried out in 1996. Apparently the remains of a mausoleum and some manuscripts were found indicating that the master's ashes were transferred to this place.

The influence of his intellectual legacy

Talking about the legacy of Aristotle is a practically insurmountable task, and it is that most of the sciences so developed in our time would not have been able to grow up to this point, or at least so quickly, if they had not been able to rely on the methods of data collection and systematic observation that Aristotle he proposed. No doubt he guessed a huge boost for physics, biology, astronomy, but also for other disciplines, such as politics or economics.

Likewise, his treatises on ethics and morals were the bulk of one of the pillars of the thought of Western civilization. In other words, it is very likely that if Aristotle had not been born, today we would not behave or think as we currently do, nor would we have a series of values ​​that come from thought Aristotelian. Without a doubt, a legacy worthy of a genius like Aristotle.

Bibliographic references:

• Calvo, T. (1996). Aristotle and Aristotelianism. Madrid. Akal.
• Candel, M. (2011). Aristotle. ed. Complete work. Library of Great Thinkers. Madrid. Editorial Gredos.
• Jaeger, W., Gaos, J. (1946). Aristotle: bases for the history of his intellectual development. Fund of Economic Culture.