Aristotle
Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers of all time, and has profoundly influenced modern thought and the contemporary scientific method. He was born on the Northern coast of Greece in 384 B.C.E. At age 17 he was sent to Athens, which, at the time, was the intellectual capital of the known world, to pursue higher education. He studied under Plato, who himself studied under Socrates, for many years, though he disagreed with many of Plato’s philosophies. He went on to teach Alexander the Great, son of King Philip II, and later established his own Athenian school of philosophy, called the Lyceum. He spent the remainder of his life teaching, researching, and writing. He and his students were interested in a wide variety of subjects, ranging from ethics to art to metaphysics to politics to epistemology to science, and everything in between.
His philosophy focuses primarily on the empirical. He was famous for rejecting Plato’s theory of The Forms, that is, his idea that every single thing we see in our material world is simply a reflection of that thing’s true existence in the transcendent realm of Forms. Plato thought that truth and accuracy could only be found in the Forms, and yet we can never attain that knowledge. Aristotle rejected this notion, believing our universe and everything in it to be true and accurate. Sense perception was, to Aristotle, the ultimate reality. He believed in the power of observation and reason, which is how he came to be known as the father of the scientific method. He invented deductive logic, usually expressed through syllogisms. He believed that a virtuous person was one who “cultivates certain virtues based on reasoning.”
His philosophy focuses primarily on the empirical. He was famous for rejecting Plato’s theory of The Forms, that is, his idea that every single thing we see in our material world is simply a reflection of that thing’s true existence in the transcendent realm of Forms. Plato thought that truth and accuracy could only be found in the Forms, and yet we can never attain that knowledge. Aristotle rejected this notion, believing our universe and everything in it to be true and accurate. Sense perception was, to Aristotle, the ultimate reality. He believed in the power of observation and reason, which is how he came to be known as the father of the scientific method. He invented deductive logic, usually expressed through syllogisms. He believed that a virtuous person was one who “cultivates certain virtues based on reasoning.”