Philosphy 101 paper
here's the paper if any of you feel like critiquing it. x-posed as a note on facebook. apologies for the long post, cant remember how to put it behind a cut.
John Tobin
Philosophy 101
2/3/10
Aristotle
In philosophy there are three major people attributed with the foundation. In order of teacher to student they are; Socrates, Plato and finally Aristotle. Not to discredit his teacher but Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers of all time. From the house of politics to the invention of science his influence is widely felt in almost all aspects of modern existence. In one way or another he changed almost every single discipline in study from mathematics to biology even as far as coining the term metaphysics. Aristotle was one of the most influential philosophers of all time.
Aristotle was born in 384 BCE in a Greek colony called Stagirus. His father Nichomachus the King of Macedonia’s personal physician which helped Aristotle associate with the court. His father’s profession probably played into his thinking as he grew. However, when Aristotle was young his father died and he was placed under the care of Proxenus. Proxenus eventually sent him to Athens when he was around 17 to study with Plato. Aristotle would attend Plato’s lectures for 20 years before starting his own. Aristotle’s lectures were frequently given while he paced or walked around. By the time Plato died Aristotle was expected to take over his place, but his own philosophies were so different from Plato’s that they chose someone else. Eventually he was invited to Mysia for a court position. While there for three years he married twice and had one son named Nichomachus. The Persians eventually took Mysia and Aristotle was invited back to Macedonia. It was then that he became the tutor of Alexander the soon to be Great. Aristotle finished schooling Alexander by the time Alexander’s father died and he ascended the throne. It was then that Aristotle returned to Athens for the first time since Plato’s death seven years prior. Platonic philosophies dominated Athens forcing Aristotle to found his own school called the Lyceum. He taught for thirteen years and created his philosophical papers there. He was also selective of who he taught what “He is said to have given two kinds of lectures: the more detailed discussions in the morning for an inner circle of advanced students, and the popular discourses in the evening for the general body of lovers of knowledge.” (http://www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/) Unfortunately for Aristotle, after Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE the government in Athens was overthrown. In a reaction to anything regarding the previous government Athens charged Aristotle with impiety. He then fled to Chalcis in Euboea to avoid letting the Athenians “Have another opportunity of sinning against philosophy as they had already done in the person of Socrates.” He might however, just chosen to stay as he died from a stomach illness the next year. Throughout Aristotle’s life he either learned or taught, generally both. He lived a rich and full life and made several major contributions that are still felt today.
One of those contributions was science. His approach greatly differed from Plato’s but they did have their common ground. He followed Plato’s opinion that the highest human function was reason and the greatest activity of the human mind was contemplation, but that’s where it ended. He studied what he termed “first philosophy” being mathematics and metaphysics. He called it first philosophy because it logically made sense, after all Plato and Socrates had used them as their main focus of study. He then however formed and for all intents and purposes created the “second philosophy’s” this was completely new for western civilization. His father’s profession as a physician had piqued his interest in living things so he sought to further his knowledge of them. He first set out to found, in Athens, a school of organized scientific inquiry. The definition of scientific knowledge and why it should be explored was put forth. He also created one of the first scientific methods. Generally it included first defining the subject matter. Then he would research it by looking at the accepted views and previous writers’ information. Finally he would present his own arguments and solutions. Obviously in modern science that is not enough information to make a correct decision but it is a start in the better direction.
One of his studies was physics, and although he was wrong about many things he still founded the field. Galileo would later debunk his biggest mistake in physics centuries later as Galileo found that two objects fell at the same speed regardless of weight. To Aristotle’s credit following his scientific method, a feather and a brick do fall at different speeds so the law of the heavier something is the faster if falls makes sense. Unfortunately for Galileo, Aristotle’s findings had been in existence for so long that the Christian Church had taken them as an official orthodox teaching. As such, Galileo’s new found data, which disproved Aristotle, was that of heresy.
Aristotle was much more gifted when it came to biology. In order to understand how it was formed he first established his own causes. This split him from Plato who felt that only abstract forms should be contemplated, so Aristotle was the first to provide detailed information from observation and dissection of plants and animals. Aristotle’s own passions can be seen in his words “For even in those kinds [of animals] that are not attractive to the senses, yet to the intellect the craftsmanship of nature provides extraordinary pleasures for those who can recognize the causes in things and who are naturally inclined to philosophy.” (Aristotle) He defined the causes as four attributes; matter, form, moving cause, and final cause. How they are described could explain why the Christian church was so readily able to accept his sciences. Matter is of course what things are made from, so an acorn’s matter would be an oak tree. Its form would be its shape. The acorn’s moving cause would be the earth, and its final cause would be an oak tree. Aristotle’s biology would be groundbreaking. He studied all living things extensively, detailing over five hundred different kinds of animals over his life. He also is credited with being the first to use autopsy and dissection as a fundamental way of learning the inner workings of things, something that is still done today. Aristotle also delved deeper into the mysteries of science by looking at elements. Although what he thought would be considered primitive and backwards in modern times, it is important to understand the contribution he made. Aristotle had four elements and four opposites. They were to be combined in order to make everything in the world. His elements that he used were earth, wind, water and fire. The opposites combined with these elements were hot or cold and wet or dry. These approaches are the result of observational study as seen by hot or cold and wet or dry. Almost anyone could have come to his conclusions if they looked for it. So whether or not Aristotle was correct in many of his sciences, he is credited with the most important aspect of each of his scientific discipline’s studies; the idea.
It seems only fitting now to explain one of Aristotle’s other contributions, metaphysics. Even the name of the discipline is a credit to Aristotle meta meaning after or beyond and physics, the name of his previous work. Aristotle blasted Plato’s theory of forms on three levels. First, Aristotle states, being that forms are powerless to explain changes and therefore are not causes or movement or change. Secondly, they are unable to explain how we end up at the results of a particular thing. Finally, that forms cannot explain the existence of certain objects.
Aside from metaphysics Aristotle excelled in rhetoric. He coined the words ethos, logos, and pathos. Each of them defines a certain way to convince or persuade another person or a group of people. Ethos would be the hardest to use as it comes from the reputation of the speaker himself or herself. So, if the president of the United States said the world was going to end and a homeless man said the world was going to end the American public would be more likely to believe the president. Logos is the use of logic, which is primarily used in scholarly papers and requires reason to understand and use. The most frequently used, is probably pathos, due to its relative easiness to be performed effectively. Pathos strives to activate emotional triggers in the listener, and to play on their heartstrings in order to convince them.
In short, without Aristotle’s presence in nearly every aspect in modern life the world would be a drastically different place. His contributions to science by themselves would have made him immortal. Adding his advancements in metaphysics and rhetoric and he is truly one of western civilizations most important figures in history. Aristotle was one of the most influential philosophers of all time.
John Tobin
Philosophy 101
2/3/10
Aristotle
In philosophy there are three major people attributed with the foundation. In order of teacher to student they are; Socrates, Plato and finally Aristotle. Not to discredit his teacher but Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers of all time. From the house of politics to the invention of science his influence is widely felt in almost all aspects of modern existence. In one way or another he changed almost every single discipline in study from mathematics to biology even as far as coining the term metaphysics. Aristotle was one of the most influential philosophers of all time.
Aristotle was born in 384 BCE in a Greek colony called Stagirus. His father Nichomachus the King of Macedonia’s personal physician which helped Aristotle associate with the court. His father’s profession probably played into his thinking as he grew. However, when Aristotle was young his father died and he was placed under the care of Proxenus. Proxenus eventually sent him to Athens when he was around 17 to study with Plato. Aristotle would attend Plato’s lectures for 20 years before starting his own. Aristotle’s lectures were frequently given while he paced or walked around. By the time Plato died Aristotle was expected to take over his place, but his own philosophies were so different from Plato’s that they chose someone else. Eventually he was invited to Mysia for a court position. While there for three years he married twice and had one son named Nichomachus. The Persians eventually took Mysia and Aristotle was invited back to Macedonia. It was then that he became the tutor of Alexander the soon to be Great. Aristotle finished schooling Alexander by the time Alexander’s father died and he ascended the throne. It was then that Aristotle returned to Athens for the first time since Plato’s death seven years prior. Platonic philosophies dominated Athens forcing Aristotle to found his own school called the Lyceum. He taught for thirteen years and created his philosophical papers there. He was also selective of who he taught what “He is said to have given two kinds of lectures: the more detailed discussions in the morning for an inner circle of advanced students, and the popular discourses in the evening for the general body of lovers of knowledge.” (http://www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/) Unfortunately for Aristotle, after Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE the government in Athens was overthrown. In a reaction to anything regarding the previous government Athens charged Aristotle with impiety. He then fled to Chalcis in Euboea to avoid letting the Athenians “Have another opportunity of sinning against philosophy as they had already done in the person of Socrates.” He might however, just chosen to stay as he died from a stomach illness the next year. Throughout Aristotle’s life he either learned or taught, generally both. He lived a rich and full life and made several major contributions that are still felt today.
One of those contributions was science. His approach greatly differed from Plato’s but they did have their common ground. He followed Plato’s opinion that the highest human function was reason and the greatest activity of the human mind was contemplation, but that’s where it ended. He studied what he termed “first philosophy” being mathematics and metaphysics. He called it first philosophy because it logically made sense, after all Plato and Socrates had used them as their main focus of study. He then however formed and for all intents and purposes created the “second philosophy’s” this was completely new for western civilization. His father’s profession as a physician had piqued his interest in living things so he sought to further his knowledge of them. He first set out to found, in Athens, a school of organized scientific inquiry. The definition of scientific knowledge and why it should be explored was put forth. He also created one of the first scientific methods. Generally it included first defining the subject matter. Then he would research it by looking at the accepted views and previous writers’ information. Finally he would present his own arguments and solutions. Obviously in modern science that is not enough information to make a correct decision but it is a start in the better direction.
One of his studies was physics, and although he was wrong about many things he still founded the field. Galileo would later debunk his biggest mistake in physics centuries later as Galileo found that two objects fell at the same speed regardless of weight. To Aristotle’s credit following his scientific method, a feather and a brick do fall at different speeds so the law of the heavier something is the faster if falls makes sense. Unfortunately for Galileo, Aristotle’s findings had been in existence for so long that the Christian Church had taken them as an official orthodox teaching. As such, Galileo’s new found data, which disproved Aristotle, was that of heresy.
Aristotle was much more gifted when it came to biology. In order to understand how it was formed he first established his own causes. This split him from Plato who felt that only abstract forms should be contemplated, so Aristotle was the first to provide detailed information from observation and dissection of plants and animals. Aristotle’s own passions can be seen in his words “For even in those kinds [of animals] that are not attractive to the senses, yet to the intellect the craftsmanship of nature provides extraordinary pleasures for those who can recognize the causes in things and who are naturally inclined to philosophy.” (Aristotle) He defined the causes as four attributes; matter, form, moving cause, and final cause. How they are described could explain why the Christian church was so readily able to accept his sciences. Matter is of course what things are made from, so an acorn’s matter would be an oak tree. Its form would be its shape. The acorn’s moving cause would be the earth, and its final cause would be an oak tree. Aristotle’s biology would be groundbreaking. He studied all living things extensively, detailing over five hundred different kinds of animals over his life. He also is credited with being the first to use autopsy and dissection as a fundamental way of learning the inner workings of things, something that is still done today. Aristotle also delved deeper into the mysteries of science by looking at elements. Although what he thought would be considered primitive and backwards in modern times, it is important to understand the contribution he made. Aristotle had four elements and four opposites. They were to be combined in order to make everything in the world. His elements that he used were earth, wind, water and fire. The opposites combined with these elements were hot or cold and wet or dry. These approaches are the result of observational study as seen by hot or cold and wet or dry. Almost anyone could have come to his conclusions if they looked for it. So whether or not Aristotle was correct in many of his sciences, he is credited with the most important aspect of each of his scientific discipline’s studies; the idea.
It seems only fitting now to explain one of Aristotle’s other contributions, metaphysics. Even the name of the discipline is a credit to Aristotle meta meaning after or beyond and physics, the name of his previous work. Aristotle blasted Plato’s theory of forms on three levels. First, Aristotle states, being that forms are powerless to explain changes and therefore are not causes or movement or change. Secondly, they are unable to explain how we end up at the results of a particular thing. Finally, that forms cannot explain the existence of certain objects.
Aside from metaphysics Aristotle excelled in rhetoric. He coined the words ethos, logos, and pathos. Each of them defines a certain way to convince or persuade another person or a group of people. Ethos would be the hardest to use as it comes from the reputation of the speaker himself or herself. So, if the president of the United States said the world was going to end and a homeless man said the world was going to end the American public would be more likely to believe the president. Logos is the use of logic, which is primarily used in scholarly papers and requires reason to understand and use. The most frequently used, is probably pathos, due to its relative easiness to be performed effectively. Pathos strives to activate emotional triggers in the listener, and to play on their heartstrings in order to convince them.
In short, without Aristotle’s presence in nearly every aspect in modern life the world would be a drastically different place. His contributions to science by themselves would have made him immortal. Adding his advancements in metaphysics and rhetoric and he is truly one of western civilizations most important figures in history. Aristotle was one of the most influential philosophers of all time.