The Contributions of Aristotle to culture and science Were very prominent and accepted. He was a disciple of Plato And teacher of Alexander the Great.
Aristotle is one of the most recognized names among ancient Greek scientists and philosophers who revolutionized the world. He was born in 384 BC. C. in the city of Estagira, in Ancient Greece.
Schule des Aristoteles. Gustav Adolph Spangenberg.
From a very young age, he showed interest in culture and science by making the decision to move to Athens to obtain higher education in Plato's Academy. He spent almost twenty years studying under the tutelage of Plato.
About five years after leaving the Academy of Plato, Aristotle was invited by the then Macedonian king Philip II to become tutor of his son Alexander, later known as Alexander the Great. Upon arrival, Aristotle was appointed director of the Royal Academy of Macedonia.
Upon returning to Athens about eight years later, Aristotle established his own school known as the Lyceum , Named after the Greek god Apollo Lycus. During the twelve years in which he gave courses in the Lyceum, many people could benefit from its teachings thanks to the several public and gratuitous courses that were given there.
During this time, Aristotle formed a library containing both his writings and the investigations of his students, as well as historical philosophical texts.
Although over time many of the texts of that library were lost, the texts that have been preserved to this day have been translated and widely distributed as gems of ancient Western philosophy.
The etymology of the name Aristotle means"the best purpose,"and in his 62 years of life Aristotle lived up to his name not only by studying and learning from the subjects of culture and science available in his time, but also by offering great contributions that in his Majority are still valid today.
You may also want to know the Definition of philosophy according to Aristotle .
10 contributions of Aristotle that changed the world and knowledge
1- A formalized system of reasoning
Considered by many as the father of the field of logic, Aristotle established the fundamentals of argumentation and logic by emphasizing good reasoning, including the idea that virtues and morality developed in reasoning and thinking.
Aristotle encouraged the approach to the importance of premises (or bases) as part of the structure of an argument rather than the content of the argument. In this way, if the premises of the argument were true, then the conclusion should also be true.
Aristotle's ideas were for many years the steps for advancement in the field of logic.
2- The political analogy of Aristotle
The treatises and ideas of Aristotle also left great contributions in the field of politics, especially related to the structure, operation and objective of a city-state.
Aristotle compares a politician with a craftsman in the sense that, using productive knowledge, the politician operates, produces and maintains a legal system that follows universal principles to reach a final goal.
Aristotle studied and widely promoted the need for a ruler for the successful existence of a city-state and a constitution that constituted the citizens' way of life and also defined the general objective of this organization.
3- Studies of biology and of Greek medicine
The field of medicine was also one of great interest to Aristotle. Although distinguished by his studies in biology, Aristotle is also considered as the father of comparative anatomy and physiology. It is believed that he came to compare more than 50 species of living things during his investigations.
Aristotle was limited by the resources of his time and therefore many of his studies on the internal structure of the human body and bodily functions were erroneous. However, this did not prevent him from studying the animal anatomy, especially of those species that could be compared to the human anatomy.
Among his observations are his embryological studies using the chicken embryo to describe the early stages of development, heart growth, and the differences between arteries and veins in the circulatory system.
Its doctrine of the four basic qualities is considered as the most important contribution to the theory of ancient Greek medicine, a doctrine that was used by many physicians and philosophers for centuries, although it was finally replaced during the Renaissance.
The four basic qualities according to Aristotle were heat, cold, wet and dry. For years this doctrine shaped the research and teachings of many Greek philosophers.
4- Early ideas on the theory of evolution
Aristotle was a great codifier and classifier, being one of the first philosophers to develop a taxonomic scheme, or classification, when studying the differences and similarities of dozens of animal species with the intention to learn when comparing them.
The system that used to organize these animals and their differences was one that went from the"imperfect"to the"perfect,"looking for differences that showed improvements or superiority. Indirectly, Aristotle began to understand the concepts of evolution , This being more than two millennia before Darwin published The origin of species .
5- Understanding of human memory
The process of Learning by association , Which has become very popular today, owes many of its key aspects to the study of memory made by Aristotle more than 2,000 years ago. Aristotle wrote that the memory was based on three principles:
Contiguity
This principle of memory refers to remembering an idea that was experienced at the same time together with another.
Likeness
It refers to the ease of remembering one idea while more similar to another, for example witnessing a dawn may bring to mind another day that witnessed a similar dawn.
Contrast
It refers to remembering the opposite of what is being experienced at the time, such as thinking about a very cold day when experiencing a hot day.
6- The Aristotelian concept of habits
For Aristotle, the conception of habits in human behavior was more than simple rigid actions and automata that were performed unconsciously.
For a long time, neuroscience has used this rigid concept of habits that leaves out many aspects of human nature. However, Aristotle had a different idea of the concept of the conception and development of habits.
He used three categories to classify the conception of habits, and these categories are based first on knowing the characteristics of a certain thing or idea, then on the prior knowledge about how to behave and, finally, on the ideas learned on how to do something.
These categories represent an acquired disposition and take into account cognitive aspects of human behavior. This notion of human habit has been a great contribution to new concepts of Neuroscience .
7- The importance of observation in nature
Aristotle was a great supporter of observation when he tried to understand the functioning of things and promoted the use of this practice as the main and primary part of the reasoning.
In his lectures and classes at the Lyceum, Aristotle encouraged his students to observe as a method of learning and understanding, and presented the study of human knowledge from the perspective of natural philosophy. This was key in the development of scientific method .
8- The scientific method
Aristotle is considered as one of the first philosophers to present a systematic treatise on scientific research. He is also considered the father of the scientific method . At present, the scientific method is considered as root for the consideration and study of new ideas and in the establishment of new theories.
While philosophers such as Plato had detracted from observation as part of the reasoning for understanding the natural world, Aristotle established it as a primordial step for the collection and classification of empirical data for the purpose of ordering and discovering the functioning and composition of things.
In addition, he taught that the way facts are shown is fundamental to determine the method of successful scientific research and included logic as a system of reasoning in the scientific method. This gave way to new forms of publication and research.
9- The earth is a sphere
Aristotle was the first to argue and prove that the earth has a sphere. Before this, some other philosophers had already given hints about the idea of the round shape of the earth, but it had not yet been established as something tried and outdated ideas on a square form still prevailed.
In the year 350 a. C., Aristotle used several reasonings to prove that the earth was round. First, he argued that the earth was a sphere because of the different constellations that can be seen in the sky as they moved further away from the equator together with the variation in their sizes.
In addition, without even knowing the concept of gravity, he argued that the weight of all the parts of the earth that, when suspended, tended to move downwards, or in other words toward the center, would naturally give the earth a spherical shape.
He also noticed, like other philosophers, the outline of the earth's shadow over the moon during eclipses.
10- Physics concepts
Aristotle examined and documented extensively his investigations and observations in the field of physics. Despite not having the measuring tools we have now and ignoring the invisible forces such as gravity, he made great arguments about the movement, the nature of matter, space and time.
By simple observations, Aristotle discovered and published fundamental truths that are still being taught to this day. For example, he taught that inertia was the natural state of matter unless a force acted upon it.
In addition, he came to understand to some extent the concept of friction that exists in an object falling into a fluid and the differences that exist depending on the weight of the object and the thickness of the fluid.
The contributions of Aristotle are considered as bases for the future work of personages like Newton or Galileo. His descriptions of time and speed later became part of Einstein's theory of relativity.
There are dozens of contributions to the culture and science that Aristotle was responsible for. Many think that their misconceptions delayed scientific advancement, since few dared to contradict their teachings after his death.
However, it is considered that their support for science and thought prompted many more to follow in their footsteps by researching and discovering new concepts.
Undoubtedly, Aristotle is a name that can not be overlooked when talking about the contributions of the great Greek thinkers to the modern world.
Although many of his ideas and teachings were outdated or replaced during the scientific revolution, it could scarcely be said that one or more of his contributions were unnecessary for scientific progress in general.
As a parent of logic, Aristotle believed that all teaching and knowledge should be exposed to the test of questioning and reason, which included changes in thinking and theories as more and more factors were discovered and new and more reliable Research systems were available.
Aristotle's contributions will continue to be the subject of much study and research, and will continue to provide contributions that will serve for scientific advancement for many decades to come.
References
- IEP. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.). March 17, 2017, from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Website: iep.utm.edu.
- Miller, F. (2011). Aristotle's Political Theory. March 17, 2017, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Website: plato.stanford.edu.
- Dunn, P.M. (2006). Aristotle (384-322 BC): philosopher and scientist of ancient Greece. March 17, 2017, Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed., Web site: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
- Aristotle's Contribution to Learning & Behavior. March 17, 2017, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Website: users.ipfw.edu.
- Bernacer, J. & Murillo J. (2014). The Aristotelian conception of habit and its contribution to human neuroscience. March 17, 2017, by Front Hum Neurosci. Website: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
- Anderson H. & Hepburn B. (2015). Scientific Method. March 17, 2017, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Website: plato.stanford.edu.
- Aristotle. (335-323 aC). On the Heavens. Athens: Aristotle.
- Aristotle. (335-323 aC). Physics. Athens: Aristotle.