Aristotle was born in the small Greek town of Stagiros. His father, Nicomachus, was a physician, and Aristotle’s interest in science was surely inspired by his father’s work. The events of Aristotle’s early life is not clear, but it is possible that his father served at the Macedonian court as a physician to Amyntas II and that Aristotle spent most of his childhood there.

At the age of 17, Aristotle joined Plato and his followers at the Academy in Athens. He remained there for 20 years, and although he admired and respected Plato, their differences caused them to split up. When Plato died in 347 B.C., Aristotle left for Assos in Mysia (in Asia Minor). There, he joined a small group of Platonists (Plato followers) who had already settled there under Hermias, the ruler of Atarneus.

After 3 years in Assos, Aristotle made his way to Macedon, where he became tutor to Alexander, who later became known as Alexander the Great, leader of the Persian Empire. Aristotle encouraged Alexander to be the leader of the Greeks, but the master of the barbarians (foreigners).

Peripatetic School

Aristotle returned to Athens in 334 B.C., where he established a philosophical school of his own. The school’s name was Peripatetic, which came from the colonnaded walk (peripatos) that surrounded it. The lectures were divided into morning and afternoon sessions, the hardest ones given in the morning and the easier and more popular ones given in the afternoon. Aristotle led the school until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. At this time he felt anxious to leave Athens, fearing for his safety because of his closeness with the Macedonians. He went to Chacis, where he died the following year of an intestinal problem.

Philosophy and Science

The word "philosophy" comes from the ancient word philosophos, which means "lover of wisdom." Philosophy is a very complicated subject. It deals with questions like how do we know what we know? Where do our thoughts come from? How do we know good or bad, right or wrong?

Aristotle was one of the first philosophers. He used logic, observation, and experiments to help explain his thoughts and writings. He was greatly inspired by Plato, his former teacher and philosopher. He himself was a great teacher, and believed that a man could not claim to know a subject unless he was able to share his knowledge with others. Aristotle thought and wrote about a wide range of subjects, like psychology, astronomy, politics, economics, and meteorology.

Most of Aristotle’s writings are lost and few remain in their original form. Many of his works have been rewritten.

Much of Aristotle’s work has been important in the history of science, but is now out of date. On the other hand, his studies in nature and biology have stood the test of time.

Aristotle carried out many observations and studies on nature, especially fish and sea creatures. He cut them open, studied their parts and organs, and tried to figure out their function.

To describe the order of nature, Aristotle devised his "Ladder of Nature." The basic groupings- humans, mammals, whales, reptiles and fish, octopuses and squid, jointed shellfish, insects, and so on- are still pretty much the same today.

The Parts of Animals, The Natural History of Animals, and The Reproduction of Animals are famous works by Aristotle. In these writings, Aristotle stated that dolphins were air-breathing mammals and not fish, as people believed.

He saw that in a honeybee hive, there was only one "leader" or "king." This observation was changed to "queen bee" in the 1700’s. He realized that animal parts or organs were suited for doing certain jobs, like long legs for fast running, etc. Aristotle said "Nature makes the organs to suit the work they have to do." This later led to modern theory of evolution.

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