Aristotelianism

Aristotelianism is the philosophy inspired by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stagira, a town of the Chalcidice region of northern Greece, in 384 b.c. A student of Plato, he founded the Lyceum, a school modeled after Platos' Academy in Athens. At the Lyceum, Aristotle instructed students in science, rhetoric, and natural philosophy. His most famous pupil was Alexander of Macedon, who established Greek lyceums in the many cities of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa that he conquered or founded. Medieval scholars began studying Aristotle's system of thought in the twelfth century, when his works were translated into Latin. Modern translations and the newfound interest in classical authors made the Aristotelian system a major branch of scholarship during the Renaissance.

Most of the writings of Aristotle that survived into the Middle Ages, and to modern times, were composed of teaching notes. They were written on scrolls that survived centuries of war, political chaos, and neglect to be preserved in European monasteries, where they were then transcribed and collected into editions, including Nicomachean Ethics, Physics, Politics, and Poetics. Aristotle's teachings were also preserved and studied by Islamic scholars, including Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Averroes, whose commentaries spurred a revival of Aristotelian studies in Europe.

Aristotle attempted to encompass the entire natural world and all phenomena in his philosophy known as Aristotelianism, which included the studies of logic, rhetoric, poetics, natural science, politics, mathematics, and ethics. He classified all knowledge into a threefold system of science (episteme ), conduct (praxis ), and created works (poesis ). Logic was the most important discipline as it provided a means of understanding science and the analytical processes through inductive reasoning.

Renaissance scholars throughout Europe presented Aristotle's theories as a foundation for studying the natural world and human conduct through the theoretical, practical, and productive sciences. Theoretical science (theoria ) combined natural philosophy, or things that can be seen and are made up of matter, with the study of theology, mathematics, astronomy, and thought processes. Practical sciences analyzed ethics, politics, and human conduct. The practical sciences attempted to advance the cause of moral virtues, such as courage and moderation, by instilling such virtues in the young through education and then carrying them out through a well-reasoned system of laws and justice. According to Aristotle's teachings, the proper conduct and exercise of virtues will bring true happiness to society as well as the individual. The productive sciences included poetics, rhetoric, architecture, and medicine.

Aristotelianism further spread after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when Greek exiles began arriving in western Europe. For the first time, many of Aristotle's works were being studied in the original ancient Greek language that was slowly spreading with the revival of classical texts. In addition, translations were made into common languages such as Italian and French. New branches of Aristotelian studies were also forming, along with various schools of thought on how to organize Aristotle's texts and present his system of knowledge. Many of Europe's leading university lecturers devoted themselves exclusively to the study of Aristotle, with some strictly following the texts, and others applying the Aristotelian system to the ever-changing natural and social worlds they experienced. For example, Leonardo Bruni, an important translator of Aristotle's works, replaced the word-for-word translations of the medieval era with a freer translation more fit for study in Latin. Galileo Galilei and Philipp Melanchthon also incorporated Aristotelianism into their works. While some writers were content to simply annotate Aristotle's works, others probed deeper, posing questions and problems in an attempt to extract deeper universal meaning to their new systems of natural philosophy.

As the organizer of philosophical and scientific thought, Aristotle was the most important figure of the classical world for all Renaissance scholars, and his works provided the basic framework of all university studies. Aristotle's works were read in lecture halls in the three stages of lectio (lecture), repetio (repetition), and disputatio (disputation, or argument). The invention of printing in the mid-fifteenth century allowed Aristotle's works to be widely distributed to a literate public. Lavish print editions, with commentaries, indexes, and summaries along with questions for argument and examination, were the precursors to the modern school textbook.

See Also: Bruni, Leonardo; classical literature