Although not much is known about Aristotle’s life, scholars worldwide agree his contribution to science was like no other. Bearing many nicknames, Aristotle was considered by other philosophers of his age as the intelligent one, despite their differences in perceiving the world around them.
1
He was born in 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidice, Greece.
A son of Nicomachus, a doctor to the Macedonian king, Amyntas, Aristotle was orphaned as a baby and placed under the care of a guardian named Proxenus of Atarneus.
2
At the age of 17 or 18, he joined Plato’s Academy.
It was funded by Plato in 387 BC on the outskirts of Athens and is often referred to as a school for would-be politicians.
3
Aristotle remained in the Academy until 37 years of age.
After Plato’s death in 348 or 347, his nephew Speusippus took control of the academy. It is unknown, however, whether that was the reason Aristotle decided to leave the academy.
4
Aristotle was married to a Greek embryologist and biologist, Pythias the Elder.
She was an adoptive daughter of Atarneus’ tyrant ruler, Hermias of Atarneus. They had a daughter, Pythias the Younger.
5
Because of Aristotle’s Macedonian ties, he fled Athens and ventured to the court of his father-in-law, Hermias of Atarneus.
Anti-Macedonian sentiments grew stronger in Athens around Plato’s death, and Aristotle may have feared some sort of retaliation, even though he was not of Macedonian origin, but an Ionian Greek.
6
In 343 BC, Aristotle became tutoring Alexander the Great.
He has done so at the request of Alexander’s father, Philip II of Macedon.
7
As a reward for teaching his son, Philip II of Macedon freed the inhabitants of Aristotle’s hometown of Stagira from slavery.
8
Aristotle tutored several crown heads.
Apart from Alexander the Great, who was one of the most prominent rulers of Macedonia, Aristotle tutored Cassander, the king of Macedonia from 305 BC to 297 BC, and Ptolemy I Soter, the ruler of Egypt from 305/304 BC to 282 BC.
9
After Pythias’ death, Aristotle entered a relationship with a woman named Herpyllis.
It is thought she may have been a former slave of Aristotle’s first wife, although records show that he showed great affection toward her. They had a son, Nicomachus, named after Aristotle’s father, who is believed to have written commentaries on Aristotle’s physic lectures.
10
Aristotle was the first ancient philosopher who would rely on science and logic.
Other great thinkers of his time, such as Socrates and Plato, discarded Aristotle’s fondness for factual and scientific reasoning in favor of philosophical thought.
11
Around 335 BC, Aristotle founded a peripatetic school of philosophy.
Its main focus was philosophy and science taught by experience, not theory, in order to determine the “why.”
12
Aristotle put great effort into studying logic.
He proposed a new concept called Syllogism he described in his work on deductive reasoning, Prior Analytics. It consists of propositions asserted to be true that form a logical conclusion. He explained that if all men are mortal, and Socrates is a man, therefore Socrates is mortal.
13
Aristotle is considered the father of zoology.
After spending time at the court of Hermias of Atarneus, Aristotle left for the island of Lesbos to study its flora and fauna. Instead of just observing animals, Aristotle started dissecting them to get a better understanding of their anatomy. It was a completely new approach toward science.
Aristotle was also the first scholar to classify animals based on various characteristics, such as the environment they occupy.
14
Aristotle favored patriarchy.
Despite believing that society may be content only when both men and women are equally pleased, he considered women as inferior and ones that should be governed by men. He claimed women are more compassionate and impulsive. Many scholars believe his views led to limiting women’s rights throughout history.
15
He produced numerous scrolls in various fields of science.
He contributed to anatomy, astronomy, geology, embryology (along with his first wife), zoology, geography, ethnic, psychology, meteorology, physics, politics, rhetoric, economics, metaphysics, theology, and aesthetics government, as well as poetry, literature, and drama.
16
Out of over 200 scrolls and manuscripts written by Aristotle, approximately 31 have survived to the present day.
17
Aristotle's line of thought greatly impacted Islamic viewpoints.
During the Islamic Golden Age in the middle ages, much of Aristotle’s work was translated into Arabic, and the philosopher was considered “The First Teacher,” which significantly impacted Islamic thought and religion.
18
His theories on chemistry and physics did not stand the test of time.
Most of his assumptions were disproved, such as the theory of the Sun orbiting Earth, which was proven wrong by Copernicus.
19
Some of Aristotle’s theories were absurd.
For instance, he proposed that the gender of a goat is determined by the direction in which the wind blows.
