Aristotle, a Greek philosopher and scientist, made significant contributions to the development of Western philosophical theories. He systemized deductive logic and wrote on physical subjects, leaving a long-lasting influence on the world of academia.
Despite his immense impact, little is known about his life. He was born in Northern Greece during the Classical period and spent most of his life as a teacher, researcher, and writer at the Lyceum in Athens.
However, after the death of a significant figure, Aristotle was forced to flee Athens and eventually died of natural causes.
In this article, we will explore the life and legacy of Aristotle and uncover what happened to him towards the end of his life.
What Happened To Aristotle
Towards the end of his life, Aristotle faced a difficult situation. He was charged with impiety due to his association with a significant figure, which forced him to flee Athens and seek refuge on the island of Euboea.
It is believed that Aristotle died of natural causes in Euboea in 322 BC. He had requested to be buried next to his wife, who had passed away years before.
Despite the lack of information about his death, Aristotle’s legacy lives on. He was a prolific writer and thinker who left behind a vast collection of written materials that covered a wide range of subjects, from science and math to philosophy and politics.
His philosophy has had a profound impact on Western thought and continues to be a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and his influence on logic continued well into the 19th century.
Aristotle’s views also profoundly shaped medieval scholarship, influencing Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology. He was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as “The First Teacher” and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply “The Philosopher.”
Early Life And Education Of Aristotle
Aristotle was born in 384 BC in the ancient Greek city of Stagira, located in present-day Macedonia. His father, Nicomachus, was a physician to the royal court of Macedon. Aristotle’s early life was shaped by his father’s profession and his own health issues, which led him to develop a deep interest in biology and medicine.
At the age of 17, Aristotle left Stagira and traveled to Athens to study at Plato’s Academy. He spent the next 20 years of his life there as Plato’s student and colleague, learning about philosophy, mathematics, science, and politics.
During his time at the Academy, Aristotle developed a reputation as an exceptional student and thinker. He was known for his sharp intellect and his ability to ask insightful questions that challenged traditional beliefs.
In 347 BC, after Plato’s death, Aristotle left Athens and traveled to the court of his friend Hermias in Asia Minor. There he met and married Hermias’ niece, Pythias. The couple had a daughter named Pythias.
In 343 BC, Aristotle was invited by King Philip II of Macedon to tutor his son Alexander, who would later become Alexander the Great. Aristotle accepted the invitation and spent three years teaching Alexander before returning to Athens in 335 BC.
Upon his return to Athens, Aristotle founded his own school called the Lyceum. The Lyceum was a place where students could engage in a wide range of studies including philosophy, science, mathematics, and politics.
During this time, Aristotle wrote extensively on a variety of topics including ethics, politics, metaphysics, biology, and physics. His works were highly influential and had a lasting impact on Western philosophy and science.
Aristotle’s early life and education played a significant role in shaping his worldview and philosophical ideas. His exposure to a wide range of subjects during his time at Plato’s Academy and his experiences teaching Alexander the Great helped him develop a unique perspective that would shape his contributions to philosophy and science for centuries to come.
Aristotle’s Contributions To Philosophy And Science
Aristotle is widely regarded as one of the most significant figures in the history of philosophy and science. He made important contributions to a wide range of subjects, including logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, biology, psychology, mathematics, and physics.
As a philosopher, Aristotle’s most significant contribution was his development of a formal system for reasoning. He observed that the deductive validity of any argument can be determined by its structure rather than its content. This led to the development of syllogistic reasoning, which dominated Western logic until the rise of modern propositional and predicate logic.
In his natural philosophy, Aristotle combined logic with observation to make general, causal claims. For example, in his biology, he used the concept of species to make empirical claims about the functions and behavior of individual animals. His work in zoology was not surpassed until the 19th century.
Aristotle also made significant contributions to ethics and political theory. He believed that it is only by becoming excellent that one could achieve eudaimonia, a sort of happiness or blessedness that constitutes the best kind of human life. His conception of ethical virtues and human flourishing continues to exert influence in philosophical debate.
In addition to his philosophical contributions, Aristotle was also a prolific writer on scientific topics. He wrote treatises on biology and zoology, and believed that all materials were made of four elements: water, earth, air, and fire. His views on chemistry endured through the Renaissance.
Aristotle’s classification of different animals based on common traits was revolutionary for its time and laid the foundation for modern taxonomy. He also devised the binomial nomenclature system for naming living organisms.
The Lyceum And Aristotle’s Teaching Career
After his return to Athens from Asia in 335 BCE, Aristotle founded an official school called “The Lyceum” and began teaching regularly in the morning. The Lyceum was a place where Aristotle could put his ideas into practice and engage with students in a collaborative research environment.
In addition to morning lessons, Aristotle would frequently lecture on the grounds for the public, and manuscripts of his compiled lectures were eventually circulated. His main focus as a teacher was cooperative research, an idea which he founded through his natural history work and systematic collection of philosophical works to contribute to his library.
Aristotle’s students were assigned historical or scientific research projects as part of their studies. The school was also student-run, with the students electing a new student administrator to work with the school leadership every ten days, allowing all the students to become involved in turn.
Before returning to Athens, Aristotle had been the tutor of Alexander of Macedonia, who became the great conqueror Alexander the Great. Throughout his conquests of various regions, Alexander collected plant and animal specimens for Aristotle’s research, allowing Aristotle to develop the first zoo and botanical garden in existence. It is also suspected that Alexander donated what would be the equivalent of more than 4 million dollars to the Lyceum.
Aristotle’s teaching career at the Lyceum was cut short when he was forced to flee Athens with his family in 322 BCE due to political persecution. He passed on his Lyceum to Theophrastus and died later that year in Chalcis, near his hometown.
Despite its relatively short lifespan, the Lyceum had a significant impact on scholarship and philosophy. It served as a model for subsequent educational institutions and influenced the development of Western scholasticism. The Peripatetics, scholars who followed Aristotelian doctrine, continued to study and build upon Aristotle’s ideas long after his death.
The Death Of Alexander The Great And Aristotle’s Exile
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C., Aristotle faced a difficult situation. He was charged with impiety due to his association with the Macedonian king, which led to anti-Macedonian sentiment in Athens. Fearing for his life, Aristotle went into voluntary exile in Chalcis, a city on the island of Euboea.
Alexander’s death left Aristotle vulnerable, and the anti-Macedonian party in Athens saw an opportunity to target him. Despite his support for Alexander’s unifying rule, Aristotle was perceived as pro-Macedonian and anti-Athenian, leading to his charges of impiety.
To avoid the fate of Socrates, who was unjustly put to death, Aristotle chose to leave Athens and seek refuge in Chalcis. He died there one year later in 322 BC of a digestive ailment at the age of 63. He had requested to be buried next to his wife, who had passed away years before.
Despite his exile and untimely death, Aristotle’s legacy continued to thrive. His teachings and philosophy have had a profound impact on Western thought and continue to influence contemporary philosophical discussions. His works on logic were the earliest known formal study of the subject and have influenced scholars for centuries. Moreover, his views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship, influencing both Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages and Christian theology.
Aristotle’s Final Years And Legacy.
Towards the end of his life, Aristotle faced a challenging situation. He was charged with impiety due to his association with a significant figure, which forced him to flee Athens and seek refuge on the island of Euboea. It is believed that Aristotle died of natural causes in Euboea in 322 BC, just a year after he fled Athens.
Despite the lack of information about his death, Aristotle’s legacy lives on. He was a prolific writer and thinker who left behind a vast collection of written materials that covered a wide range of subjects, from science and math to philosophy and politics. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and his influence on logic continued well into the 19th century.
Aristotle’s philosophy has had a profound impact on Western thought and continues to be a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion. His views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship, influencing Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology. He was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as “The First Teacher” and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply “The Philosopher.”
Aristotle’s impact on literature and literary theory is also significant. Many literary scholars mark Plato’s teachings as the beginning of the tradition of literary theory, and Aristotle was one of Plato’s best students, eventually becoming a teacher himself. His theories on drama and poetry were groundbreaking and have influenced literary criticism for centuries.
In conclusion, Aristotle’s final years may have been tumultuous, but his legacy has endured through his writings and ideas. He remains one of the most influential philosophers in Western history, whose impact can still be felt in various fields today.
