"In a bronze (in the Naples Museum) of Aristotle, the finely
wrinkled brow, the reflective eyes, the precise line of the mouth
tend to convince one that here, authentically, is the great philosopher
as he looked in life." William Gaunt
The great trilogy of philosophy began with Socrates. His pupil
Plato further expanded the realm of thought and at his death
passed the torch to his pupil, Aristotle. At the age of eighteen
Aristotle came to Athens from Macedonia in the north for the
purpose of studying with Plato. Although he was an original thinker
who made great contributions of his own, he remained a student
in Plato's Academy for twenty years. When Plato died he may have
felt disappointment in not being chosen to head the school which
Plato had founded but at that time Philip, king of Macedonia,
invited him to become the tutor of his son who came to be known
as Alexander the Great. Aristotle later returned to Athens where
he founded his own school, The Lyceum. He was not only an original
and deep thinker but an observer, an organizer, a systematizer
of knowledge. He laid the foundation of all sciences and philosophies
by defining and classifying the various branches of knowledge:
Psychology, Metaphysics, Politics, Rhetoric and Logic. |
