Aristóteles: biografía y pensamiento (filosofía)

Summary

Aristotle, a prominent Greek philosopher, was a polymath whose work spanned from mathematics to politics. Known as the father of logic, he founded the Lyceum and influenced Western thought with his empirical approach to knowledge. His teachings, including ethics, politics, and natural sciences, laid the groundwork for future scientific inquiry and remain influential today.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Aristotle was a prominent Greek philosopher of the classical era, known for his extensive knowledge across various disciplines including philosophy, mathematics, physics, and biology.
• 🏛️ He was a student at the Academy of Athens for over two decades and was mentored by Plato, the father of Western philosophy.
• 📚 Aristotle is often referred to as the 'father of logic' and authored several works on the subject, significantly influencing Western thought.
• 🌟 His teachings and works laid the groundwork for the study of natural sciences until the Enlightenment, emphasizing the importance of observation and experience.
• 🦑 In biology, Aristotle made significant contributions, including the classification of over 500 species and pioneering embryology studies, despite some theories like spontaneous generation being later disproven.
• 🏫 He founded the Lyceum of Athens, an educational institution that fostered a school of thought known as 'peripatetics', characterized by walking while teaching.
• 👨‍🏫 Aristotle was the tutor of Alexander the Great and other notable figures, emphasizing education in areas like mathematics, natural sciences, logic, and oratory.
• 🌱 His philosophical approach diverged from Plato's, focusing on empirical evidence and the inseparable nature of the soul and body, which he believed were integral to understanding the world.
• 📖 Among Aristotle's surviving works are foundational texts like 'Nicomachean Ethics' and 'Metaphysics', which have profoundly impacted Western philosophy and science.
• 🔍 Aristotle's theory of knowledge emphasized the role of perception and experience, distinguishing between 'sensible' and 'intellectual' knowledge, and laying the foundation for empirical study.

Q & A

Who was Aristotle and what was his primary area of expertise?

Aristotle was a Greek scholar of the classical era, primarily known for his extensive contributions to philosophy. He was one of the most outstanding figures in Western philosophy.

What was the scope of Aristotle's intellectual pursuits?

Aristotle's intellectual pursuits were vast, covering areas such as mathematics, physics, biology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and more.

Why is Aristotle often referred to as the 'father of logic'?

Aristotle is often referred to as the 'father of logic' due to his significant contributions to the field, including several works dedicated to logic.

Where did Aristotle belong for over two decades and who was one of his mentors?

Aristotle belonged to the Academy of Athens for more than two decades, and one of his mentors was Plato, the father of Western philosophy.

What was the Lyceum of Athens, and how is it related to Aristotle?

The Lyceum of Athens was a philosophical school founded by Aristotle, located near a temple dedicated to Lycian Apollo. It was known by the name 'peripatetic' because Aristotle used to walk through the corridors while teaching.

What was Aristotle's approach to knowledge after the death of his teacher, Plato?

After Plato's death, Aristotle began to develop a vision of knowledge that was closer to factual reality, which was used as a basis for the study of natural sciences until the Enlightenment.

What are some of the theories Aristotle developed in biology that were later proven true or false?

Aristotle developed theories in biology such as spontaneous generation, which was later proven false, and the explanation of octopus reproduction through the hectocotyl, which was proven true.

What was the significance of the term 'lyceum' in the context of Aristotle's time?

The term 'lyceum' was first used by the Aristotelians and came to designate secondary education institutions in some countries.

How many of Aristotle's treatises are believed to have survived to our time?

Out of the more than 200 treatises Aristotle is thought to have written, just over 30 have survived to our time.

What was Aristotle's view on the relationship between the soul and the body?

Aristotle proposed that the soul and the body were inseparable, as was the form of matter, which was a departure from Plato's Theory of Forms that suggested a separation.

How did Aristotle's approach to politics differ from Plato's?

Aristotle considered politics to be inherent in human nature, viewing men as social or 'political' animals living in 'polis', and he introduced the concept of six forms of government based on the number of people in power and their intentions.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Aristotle: The Renaissance Man of Antiquity

Aristotle, a prominent Greek scholar of the classical era, was a polymath with contributions spanning philosophy, mathematics, physics, biology, metaphysics, ethics, and politics. He is revered as the father of logic and was well-versed in oratory, an important art form for Greeks. His extensive work laid the groundwork for Western society and influenced the study of natural sciences until the Enlightenment. Born in 384 BC in Stagira, his father, Nicomachus, was a physician. Aristotle was a student at the Academy of Athens under Plato and later taught Alexander the Great. He established the Lyceum, a philosophical school in Athens, and was known for his empirical approach to knowledge, emphasizing the importance of observation and experience. His theories, some of which were later debunked, and others confirmed, such as the reproduction of octopuses, showcased his deep interest in biology. Despite the loss of most of his works, his surviving treatises continue to be studied, reflecting his profound impact on Western thought.

05:05

🏛️ Aristotle's Academic Journey and Departure

Aristotle's academic journey began at the Academy of Athens under the tutelage of Plato. His departure from Athens was influenced by Plato's death and the selection of Speusippus as the Academy's head, which Aristotle may have found disappointing. He also faced anti-Macedonian sentiments due to Philip II's dominance in Greece. Aristotle's travels led him to Atarneo, where he married Pythias, the adoptive daughter of Hermias, and later to the island of Lesbos for zoological research. His time in Macedonia as a tutor to Alexander the Great and other noble youths was marked by teaching in subjects like mathematics, natural sciences, logic, and oratory. Upon returning to Athens around 335 BC, Aristotle founded the Lyceum, an educational center that became a hub for his intellectual pursuits and the development of his philosophical school known as 'peripatetics'.

10:06

🌊 Aristotle's Later Life and Contributions to Knowledge

Aristotle's later life was marked by personal loss, including the death of his wife Pythias, and a relationship with Herpilis, with whom he had a son, Nicomachus. After Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC, Aristotle faced accusations of impiety, leading him to retreat to Chalcidia. His death in 322 BC was surrounded by mystery, with no clear cause. In his will, he bequeathed his library and writings to Theophrastus and provided for his family, including the marriage of his daughter to his adopted son, Nicanor. Aristotle's philosophical approach, which diverged from Plato's, emphasized the study of nature and the importance of experience and the senses in acquiring knowledge. He categorized sciences into practical, theoretical, and poetic, with a focus on the study of physis, or nature, and the inextricable link between the soul and the body.

15:11

📚 Aristotle's Classification of Sciences and Empiricism

Aristotle's classification of sciences into practical, theoretical, and poetic laid the foundation for his empirical approach to knowledge. He considered rhetoric, politics, ethics, and economics as practical sciences essential for daily life. His political philosophy viewed humans as inherently social beings, leading to the concept of six forms of government. In theoretical sciences, Aristotle distinguished between physics (physis), mathematics, and metaphysics, with the latter being the 'first philosophy.' His biological studies included the classification of over 500 species and embryology. Psychology was another area of interest, where he proposed three types of souls. Aristotle's Poetics introduced the formal study of aesthetics, viewing imitation as a natural and learning-enhancing process. His epistemology, diverging from Plato's Theory of Forms, emphasized perception and experience, and he is recognized as the father of empiricism for his emphasis on these aspects in knowledge development.

20:12

🧠 Aristotle's Theory of Knowledge and Logic

Aristotle's theory of knowledge distinguished between 'sensible' and 'intellectual' knowledge, with the former based on sensory experience and the latter on abstraction and universal concepts. He argued that the form and matter of things are inseparable and that abstraction is achieved through experience and memory. In logic, Aristotle is considered the father of Western logic, with his work forming the basis of the subject for over a thousand years. His Organon, a collection of six books, detailed the principles of logic, including the use of axioms and the rejection of hypotheses as principles. Aristotle's logical order emphasized the importance of basic, justifiable statements as the foundation for understanding, setting him apart from his teacher, Plato.

Keywords

💡Aristotle

Aristotle was a prominent Greek philosopher and polymath of the classical era, known for his extensive contributions to various fields including philosophy, ethics, politics, and natural sciences. He is often referred to as the father of logic and his work has profoundly influenced Western thought. In the script, Aristotle's life, teachings, and theories are central to the narrative, highlighting his role as a foundational figure in Western philosophy and science.

💡Empiricism

Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts all knowledge is derived from sensory experience. Aristotle is considered one of the first empiricists for his emphasis on observation and experience as the basis for understanding the world. The script mentions that Aristotle believed experience and the senses are the foundations of knowledge, which contrasts with Plato's Theory of Forms and underscores the importance of empirical observation in his scientific method.

💡Lyceum

The Lyceum, also known as the Peripatetic school, was the philosophical school founded by Aristotle in Athens. It was named after the temple of Apollo Lyceus, near which it was located. The Lyceum is significant in the script as it represents Aristotle's educational philosophy and his approach to teaching, which involved walking while discussing philosophical concepts, hence the term 'peripatetic'. The Lyceum became a center for the study of natural sciences and philosophy.

💡Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space. In the script, Aristotle's approach to metaphysics is highlighted by his rejection of Plato's Theory of Forms and his assertion that matter and form are inseparable. His work laid the groundwork for future metaphysical inquiries and is referred to as 'the first philosophy'.

💡Ethics

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with moral principles, considering what is right and wrong and how one ought to live. Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is mentioned in the script, where he explores the concept of virtue and the achievement of happiness through excellence. His ethical theories emphasize practical wisdom and the development of good habits as a means to achieve a good life.

💡Politics

Politics, as discussed in the script in relation to Aristotle, refers to the set of activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power. Aristotle believed that humans are inherently political animals and that the polis (city-state) is a natural community. His work on politics includes the classification of different types of governments, such as monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, and their corresponding perversions.

💡Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, often in prose. Aristotle is known for his significant contributions to the study of rhetoric, which he viewed as a crucial skill for persuasion. In the script, rhetoric is highlighted as a discipline that distinguishes humans from animals and is essential for effective communication and persuasion, utilizing ethos, pathos, and logos.

💡Biology

Biology is the study of living organisms and their vital processes. Aristotle's work in biology is noted in the script for his detailed observations and classifications of over 500 species, as well as his embryological studies. His contributions to biology, despite some theories being later disproven, such as spontaneous generation, laid a foundation for the scientific study of life.

💡Logic

Logic is the study of correct reasoning, especially as it involves the drawing of valid conclusions from given premises. Aristotle is hailed as the father of logic due to his systematic study and formulation of the principles of reasoning. The script references his work in logic, particularly in the 'Organon', a collection of texts that outline the fundamentals of deductive reasoning and have been influential in the development of logic as a discipline.

💡Peripatetic

Peripatetic refers to the philosophical school associated with Aristotle, known for their practice of walking while teaching and discussing philosophical concepts. The term is derived from the Greek 'peripatoi', meaning 'walkways'. In the script, the peripatetic method is indicative of Aristotle's educational approach at the Lyceum, emphasizing the active engagement with ideas through discussion and movement.

Highlights

Aristotle was a prominent Greek scholar of the classical era with extensive knowledge across various fields.

He is often referred to as the father of logic and contributed significantly to the subject.

Aristotle was well-versed in oratory, a critical art form in ancient Greece.

He was a member of the Academy of Athens and studied under Plato for over two decades.

Aristotle taught Alexander the Great and other notable figures in Macedonia.

He founded the Lyceum of Athens, also known as the peripatetic school, late in his life.

Aristotle's work laid the foundation for the study of natural sciences until the Enlightenment.

He had a particular interest in biology and made observations that were detailed in 'The Story of Animals'.

Aristotle's theories on spontaneous generation were later disproven, but his embryology studies were pioneering.

The term 'lyceum' was first used by Aristotelians and later designated secondary education institutions.

Aristotle was born in 384 BC in Stagira and was of a medical family background.

His educational philosophy emphasized the importance of experience and the senses as the foundations of knowledge.

Aristotle's approach to politics viewed humans as inherently social or 'political' animals.

He proposed six forms of government,区分 between those aiming for common good and those seeking personal benefit.

Aristotle's ethics emphasized practical wisdom and the pursuit of excellence to achieve happiness.

In metaphysics, he disagreed with Plato's Theory of Forms, asserting the inseparability of matter and form.

Aristotle's theory of knowledge prioritized perception and human experience in the development of understanding.

He is considered the father of Western logic, with his work forming the basis of the subject for centuries.

Transcripts

Aristotle was a Greek scholar of the classical era who devoted himself to multiple areas of

knowledge, especially philosophy, an area in which he stood out as one of the most outstanding

exponents of the entire West. His wisdom was very extensive, as it ranged from mathematics,

physics and biology to metaphysics, ethics and politics, although this was common among

contemporary intellectuals with Aristotle. His work is still visited by scholars and has

remained one of the foundations of Western society. It is common for Aristotle to

be called the father of logic, a subject to which he devoted several works. In the same

way he was versed in oratory, an extremely relevant art for the Greeks of his time.

He lived during the 3rd century BC. C., and belonged to the Academy of Athens for more than two

decades. One of his mentors was Plato, the father of Western philosophy. In addition,

Aristotle devoted himself to teaching and among his disciples was Alexander the Great.

But his work for education did not stop there, but towards the end of his life he created the Lyceum

of Athens, named after the site where his philosophical school was located. This was

known by the name of "peripatetic". After the death of his teacher, Plato,

Aristotle began to develop a vision of knowledge that was close to

factual reality, so it was used as a basis for the study of

natural sciences until the arrival of the Enlightenment. He had a particular interest in biology and

developed some theories that would later prove incorrect, such as spontaneous generation,

but also others, such as the one that explained the reproduction of octopuses through the

hectocotyl, were proven true. The term “lyceum”, used for the first

time by the Aristotelians, came to designate secondary education institutions in

some countries. Of the more than 200 treatises the Greek philosopher is thought to have written, just over 30 have

survived to our time. -First years

Aristotle was born in 384 a. C., in the city of Stagira,

located northeast of Macedonia, a kingdom to which the Chalcidic peninsula belonged then.

The name of the man who became a landmark of Western culture, Aristotle,

meant "the best purpose," or "end," in ancient Greek. He was one of the sons of Festis

with Nicomachus, a physician who served Amyntas III of Macedon, grandfather of Alexander the Great.

Both parents of Aristotle held the title of "Asclepiadae", which meant "son of

Asclepius", a legendary figure of the Greek tradition related to medicine. Many physicians

in Greece adopted "Asclepiidae" in their names, so it is not clear whether this

was a family or a professional group. Aristotle had two brothers, one named

Arimnesta and another named Arimnesto. It is believed that for a time he resided with his father in

Pella, the capital of Macedonia, and that since then his connections with the court of the kingdom arose.

According to some sources, Nicomachus died when Aristotle was 13 years old,

but others affirm that it was some time later and that the young man was 17. In both versions

of the story it is ensured that his guardian was Proxenus of Atarnaeus, husband of his older sister.

-Education When Aristotle was about

17 years old he was sent to study at the Academy of Athens, where Plato taught.

It is believed that at the time of Aristotle's entry, the leader of the school was in Sicily,

so they did not meet until 365 BC. C. According to the most widespread version

of Aristotle's life, he remained at the Academy for nearly twenty years,

until Plato's death in 347 BC. C. However, other accounts claim

that Aristotle may have left earlier to study biology at Aso.

Departure According to some,

Plato's disciple was upset that the philosopher's nephew,

Speusippus, was chosen as successor at the head of the Academy, so he left Athens.

In addition, it was added that the anti-Macedonian sentiment that pervaded the area,

due to Philip II's growing dominance of Greece, may have influenced his decision.

In other versions it was commented that Aristotle, although he separated

intellectually from the current taught by Plato, always considered himself very close to his

teacher and had a deep respect for him. On the other hand, some have claimed that,

while remaining friendly towards the members of the Academy of Athens, he tried to show that

some theories proposed within that group, such as that of the Forms, were incorrect.

In any case, some of his outstanding works were developed in this period

of Aristotle's life. -Travel

While he had been one of the students of the Academy, Aristotle met Hermias,

who was ruler of an area called Atarneo and whose control expanded through Asia Minor.

Aristotle traveled to join his old companion at Aso. There he also met Pythias,

the adoptive daughter of Hermias, whom he married. The couple later had a

daughter whom they named after her mother. Thanks to the collaboration of Aristotle

, an agreement was reached so that Atarneus and Macedon would become allies,

which displeased the Persian shah, Artaxerxes III. Memnon of Rhodes was the one designated to recover

the area and captured Hermias to later assassinate him.

Lesbos and biology After the death of his father-in-law,

around the year 341 a. C., Aristotle went to the island of Lesbos where he

stayed for two years and where he devoted himself to research in zoology and marine biology.

He collected some of his research in The Story of Animals. In that text are captured

some of the observations in greater detail in the field of zoology up to the seventeenth century.

Aristotle said that between theory and observation the second must prevail,

since it confirms the first. -Macedonia

In 342 a. C. Aristotle went to Macedonia at the request of Philip II. There he served as

a tutor for the most important young men of the kingdom, among whom was the heir to the throne,

who after his conquests was known as Alexander the Great.

In the Temple of the Nymphs, in Mieza, was the institution in which

Alexander and other boys contemporary with the Macedonian prince, such as Ptolemy, Cassander

or Hephaestion, were educated by Aristotle. Philip II is said to have promised the philosopher that he would

rebuild Stagira, which had been destroyed by the Macedonian king in 348 BC. C. After

raising the city again, Philip returned its inhabitants there, who had

become slaves after the occupation of Stagira. At the time Aristotle began to

instruct Alexander, the latter was about 13 years old. Although the records attest

that at the age of 15 the prince was already outstanding in a military career, it is known that

Aristotle remained in Pella for about 5 years. Among the areas in which he instructed the future

conqueror, mathematics, physis (or natural sciences),

logic and oratory stood out, aspects considered very important by Greek society.

-Return to Athens and the Lyceum Around 335 a. C., Aristotle

returned to the city in which he was formed, Athens. At that time he decided to create his own

educational center which he baptized as Lyceum, or Liceo. In Greece these types of institutions were known

as gymnasiums, and this particular one was near a temple dedicated to Lycian Apollo.

Many of his works were developed while he was in charge of the Lyceum. The intellectuals who

followed this trend were known as "peripatetics", because Aristotle used to

walk through the corridors while teaching. Aristotle was not the first to use the

Lyceum as a site of instruction: other scholars before him had

used it for the same purpose. Among those were Socrates and Plato himself.

However, as he did not hold Athenian citizenship, he could not own property, so he

used that public space as a meeting place with his students. Therefore, the Lyceum, being

a traveling school, had no official status. Due to the training that Aristotle imparted to his

disciples, they focused, after the physical disappearance of their teacher,

on natural questions rather than on metaphysics or philosophy.

Among the most outstanding Peripatetics was Theophrastus, who took the reins

of the Lyceum when Aristotle left the city definitively years later.

-Last years Before Aristotle

left Athens, his wife Pythias passed away and he began a relationship with Herpilis of Stagira,

who was the mother of Nicomachus, to whom the philosopher dedicated one of his best-known works.

The figure of Herpilis is obscure, since there are not many details about its

origin. Some have said that she was a slave of Pythias, the wife of Aristotle, while

others consider that she was a free woman and that, in fact, she was also the wife of the philosopher.

In the year 323 a. C., Alexander the Great died and some city states,

such as Athens, again repudiated everything that had to do with Macedonia.

Chalcidia It is believed that it

was because of this rejection that Aristotle decided to move to Chalcidia on the island of Euboea,

separated from Boeotia by the Euripus Strait. The story has transpired that Eurymedon

the hierophant and Demophilus brought charges of "impiety" against Aristotle,

as they had once done against Socrates, who was sentenced to death in 339 BC. C.

Some sources place Aristotle's departure in 322 BC. C. In the words of the same scholar,

his decision to leave the city was made to "avoid another sin against

philosophy" by the Athenians. He spent his final days trying to find

explanations for the phenomena of nature he observed in Chalcidia, such as the tide in the

Euripus Strait. -Death

Aristotle died at the end of 322 a. C., on the Euboean island, in Greece. The cause of his death

has not been clarified, since there are no records that he suffered from any illness, but at the

time he was approximately 62 years old. Inheritance

Aristotle's will was preserved and valuable information

about his life was extracted from it. To his successor as head of the Lyceum, Theophrastus, he left both his

library and the texts of his authorship. Nicanor, Aristotle's adoptive son,

was to receive the philosopher's estate when he reached the right age. Until then the

selected tutors were Aristomenes, Timarco, Hipparco, Dioteles and Theophrastus.

He ordered that his daughter should marry Nicanor and he take charge of the whole family as a

father and a brother at the same time. If something happened to the young heir, then the

same arrangement was in place for Theophrastus. Herpilis was also included requesting that,

if she wished, a worthy husband be found for her, as well as some slaves and money,

and she was allowed to choose whether she would reside in the house of Stagira or Chalcidia.

Another of the wills that Aristotle left settled was the liberation of several slaves,

whose ultimate destiny was freedom, since he prohibited their sales. He also

requested that Pythias's remains be brought along with his own.

The philosophy of Aristotle Aristotle proposed an

approach to philosophy that differed from the one he had received during his training at the

Academy of Athens, led by Plato. The title of the new school was "Liceo",

and the followers of its postulates were given the name of "peripatetics".

For the students of Aristotle, the studies of physis, or nature, were more relevant

than the other branches of knowledge. -New approach

The Greek had divided the sciences, as they were understood then, into three categories

which he called practical, theoretical and poetic. He proposed that experience and the senses are the

foundations of knowledge which, in turn, is the ultimate end of man. Likewise,

according to Aristotle, the soul and the body were inseparable, as was the form of matter.

In this way, knowledge had to be deduced from justifiable precepts, with what we

have in Aristotle and his followers, some of the first empiricists in the world,

since they used observation to show the truth of their statements.

-Practical sciences In this category were included the areas

that were considered useful in the development of daily life for

contemporary Greek citizens with Aristotle, such as, for example, rhetoric, politics, ethics or economics.

Rhetoric For Aristotle, rhetoric

was fundamental. In addition to being considered the art of persuasion, it was one of the differences between

men and animals. To achieve the objective of convincing the audience, one could

resort to ethos, pathos or logos. Politics

Aristotelian approaches ensured that politics was inherent in human nature,

while men were social or "political" animals, that is, they lived in "polis".

Their essence is social, since they can communicate and thus generate lasting rules and

agreements that lead to justice. Governments according to Aristotle

One of his most outstanding contributions was that of the six forms of government which he separated by the

number of people at the head of the State and the purpose for which they assumed office, that is,

if they were interested in obtaining benefits own or the welfare of the community.

The first three forms proposed by the Greek are those that try to

achieve a good common development: - Monarchy: the government of one.

- Aristocracy: the government of few. - Democracy: the government of many.

When these three forms are perverted and seek personal benefit, they become:

- Tyranny: the government of one. - Oligarchy: the government of few.

- Demagoguery: the rule of many. Economy

For Aristotle the word economy referred to the management of the home.

To refer to what we currently conceive as economy, the term was “chrematistic”,

but according to Aristotelian ethics, the accumulation of wealth was not ethical.

Ethics Among Aristotle's texts,

Nicomachean Ethics stands out, a work dedicated to his son. Ethics was not considered a

theoretical science but a practical one, since man must try to become good and do good.

For something to be good, it must fulfill its function; in the case of man,

his soul and his mind must act in harmony, so that happiness is achieved through

excellence. So, the best actions had to be made into a habit.

-Theoretical sciences For Aristotle the theoretical sciences could

be divided into three broad categories. On the one hand, physical philosophy –physis– (whose meaning

corresponds to the term “natural”), then there are mathematics and, finally, metaphysics,

which he considered the mother of the other sciences. Metaphysics

Aristotle did not mention the word "metaphysics" in his texts, but instead

alluded to "the first philosophy" in his treatises. In this particular, Aristotle distanced

himself from Plato's Theory of Forms, since he proposed that matter and

form are inseparable, so that the world is not divided into two, but is only one.

Metaphysics deals with being, so it cannot be identified as one of the

specific sciences, but everything follows from it. Physis

Here was a place for things related to nature. According to Aristotle's classification,

biology, chemistry, physics and psychology, among other disciplines, were part

of this branch of science which, moreover, was one of the favorites for the Peripatetics.

Chemistry and physics One of the main

postulates of Aristotle in these fields was the theory of the elements. He reaffirmed the four

basic elements proposed by Empedocles and added one more to them: the ether, which made up the sky.

Aristotle made a table in which he described the characteristics of these elements

such as weight, movement or qualities. He also raised theories that dealt with the

various types of movement of bodies that were proven wrong over time.

Geology Aristotle pointed out that the

span of human life is insufficient to record some changes in the world,

such as the birth of islands, the disappearance of aquatic bodies such as lakes or the

growth of the flow of rivers such as the Nile. Biology

Aristotle, in addition to sexual reproduction as a generator of life,

which was the accepted theory until then, proposed spontaneous generation to

explain the birth of some animals such as insects or members of the marine fauna.

According to the Greeks the universe was alive, and therefore could create life from the

basic elements. This theory remained valid until, finally, Luis Pasteur, among other scientists,

managed to prove that it was an error. Despite his blunders,

Aristotle's true contribution to biology was the description and classification of more than

500 living beings. The biggest difference that the Greek highlighted was that between

animals that had blood and those that did not. Likewise, he was the first to carry out

embryology studies. Aristotle made observations of the development of bird eggs

and extrapolated it to other animals. Psychology

One of Aristotle's interests was the study of the human mind. He gave importance

to dreams, which he did not consider to have a connection with the gods,

but with the imagination of each individual. As for the soul, Aristotle proposed that there were

three types of soul, one vegetable, one sensitive and a third that was rational.

The plants possessed only the first, the animals possessed the vegetable and the sentient,

while human beings were the only ones who possessed all three.

The possession of soul was what, according to Aristotle, made something have life.

Unlike Plato, he did not consider them to be two separable things, but rather a unit

that was not divisible, although he affirmed that a part of the soul could transcend life.

-Poetic Sciences Aristotle grouped in his Poetics the study of

aesthetics. He was one of the philosophers who initiated the formal study of the artistic disciplines

which he classified as imitative and non-imitative. For this Greek, imitation was not a

degrading activity, but a natural process that is inherent in human beings, since

Aristotle proposed that imitating something requires memory and contributes to learning.

He thought that poetry was closer to philosophy than history, because it is in charge

of proposing tentative situations, in addition to generating a description of the

natural consequences that they entail. Aristotle's theory of knowledge

Aristotle moved away from what Plato proposed in the Theory of Forms, in which it is ensured that

what exists in the world is a representation of an idea that is in the mind, a place where

it is stored all knowledge. This Greek was considered the father of

empiricism, since in his theory of knowledge, or epistemology,

perception and human experience had a fundamental role in the development of knowledge.

-Types of knowledge For Aristotle, the desire for wisdom

is natural in men and represents one of the characteristics that place them above

animals. He separated two types of knowledge, which he called "sensible" and "intellectual."

Sensitive knowledge is responsible for particular aspects, since

Aristotle considered that the senses are the starting point of understanding.

However, the philosopher claimed that, at the same time, there was an intellectual knowledge

in which, thanks to abstraction, universal concepts

and the basic essence of issues can be understood. Likewise, Aristotle explained that the

form and matter of things are not separated. Also, he asserted that abstraction was achieved

thanks to experience and memory, which were the tools to create broader concepts.

-Logic and process of knowledge For Aristotle the understanding

followed a logical order. First there were the basic statements, which currently

correspond to the term "axiom", but in Aristotelian logic that name was given to other

types of principles, which were secondary. The basic statements, according to Aristotle,

had to be true as well as justifiable. That was another point in which he differed

from his teacher, Plato. Furthermore, these statements cannot be deduced, since they are principles.

According to Aristotle's logic, a hypothesis cannot be considered as a principle, since

everything that follows from such an approach would also, consequently, be hypothetical.

Father of logic Aristotle is considered the father of

Western logic, since his work was applied, almost unchanged, for more than a thousand years.

The first formal study of logic was carried out by this Greek philosopher and was embodied in the

Organon, a collection of six books in which Aristotle addressed most of the

concepts of logic and which was used as the beginning of the study of the subject until the XIX century.