Aristotle

=**Introduction**= "Happiness depends upon ourselves." -Aristotle (Brainy Quotes). I believe that Aristotle is basically telling us that happiness can only be brought about through ourselves. We can not find happiness unless you really desire it. Aristotle is also telling us not to depend on others for our own happiness. The people around us do not control our emotions and should not make you feel unhappy.

=**Personal Backgrounds**= One of the most well regarded philosophers during his time and even now is Aristotle. Aristotle was born in the year 384bc and died in the year 322bc. He was born in the City of Macedonia, Stagirus. Aristotle did not come from a wealthy family. His father Nichomachus was a court physician to the king. The king, who at the time was king Amyntas of Macedonia. Because of his father Aristotle was exposed to things like disease observation, which helped with his curiosity. His father passed away when Aristotle was still a young boy.

When he was 17 years old Aristotle left his home town because his guardian sent him to Athens to educate himself. Aristotle was looking for knowledge. A place to learn more about the things he loved. Once Aristotle turned 18 he joined Plato’s academy of mathematics, philosophy, science, you name it. After becoming an experienced philosopher and scientist Aristotle was appointed to tutor the grandson of the king of Macedonia. The name of the prince that he tutored was Alexander the Great. Alexander was about 14 years old when they first met.

He taught Alexander everything that he could about mathematics as well as science and philosophy. Aristotle and Alexander soon stopped talking about lectures. Instead they began to speak to each other like close friends. Plato at the time was dying and was going to appoint a successor and Aristotle was not chosen. Soon after Alexander’s father was assassinated. Aristotle was forced to flee because of anti Macedonian sediments. After the assassination of Alexander the Great everything died down and Aristotle returned to Athens. Aristotle met and married Pythias daughter of the king of Hermeas. Aristotle died in his home in Chalcis from a stomach illness (Dunn).

=**Personal Traits**= Greek philosophy is known for having a few famous philosophers, one of those philosophers is Aristotle. Aristotle was one of the most intelligent philosophers of his time, only surpassed by Plato and Socrates (Carr). Aristotle was as so well educated, at only 17 Aristotle’s guardian sent him to finish his education (Dunn). He had very high moral standards but he refused to hold the upmost respect for the gods (Haslip). Aristotle was always eager to learn more especially when it came to nature. Aristotle once said “Nature does nothing uselessly” as well as “if one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature’s way”. He loved nature and truly believed that it was perfect in every way (Dunn).

Aristotle loved to teach, so much so that he even had the opportunity to tutor Alexander the third, also known as Alexander the Great. After Plato’s death it was revealed that Aristotle was not chosen to take over Plato’s academy. None the less Aristotle did not give up and he founded his own academy. By making his own academy Aristotle showed his determination (Gill).

Aristotle was a bit of an introvert, he loved to teach and everything else but he often kept to himself. Aristotle enjoyed times to himself to be able to think clearly about any new information that he came across (Haslip). Aristotle was also surprisingly fearful when the news came around that the king had been assassinated. As soon as Aristotle heard about the possibility of being killed he fled from Athens (Gill).

=**Obstacle**= Everyone in life has hard times it is something that is unavoidable. No matter how rich or poor you are there are always things that get in your way. Sometimes these things block the way to your intended goals in life, then they are known as obstacles. Aristotle had a fair share of obstacles in his lifetime just like everyone else. When he was just a young boy he’s father passed away leaving him in the care of a guardian (Dunn).

As an adult he attended Plato’s academy, when Plato grew sick Aristotle hoped to be able to take over his academy. Sadly Aristotle was not chosen to take over Plato’s academy. Not being chosen soon prompted Aristotle to make his own academy. Not too long afterwards he realized that he would have to be competing with Plato’s school (Carr). All too often many people doubted Aristotle’s work. They did not believe his work mainly because he did not hold the upmost honor for the gods (Haslip). Aristotle was not always fully credited for the work that he showed. There were not many individuals that Aristotle could talk to because he had so much knowledge of thing that many people could not even dream of comprehending (Rasmussen).

Another challenge that Aristotle went through was that he faced the possibility of being killed. After the assassination of Alexander’s father there were many anti-Macedonian sediments going around. This forced Aristotle to flee Athens and not return until it was safe (Dunn). A few years later Aristotle faced his own death in his home in Chalcis (Merriman).

=**Historical Significance**= Aristotle is one of the most well known philosophers of his time. He is responsible for a great amount of knowledge that we have today. In his life he composed about 150 volumes of encyclopedias just from things that he taught. As a young child Aristotle learned many things about the human anatomy from his father. The studies he did contributed to the knowledge that we have today in medicine (Dunn). His father had many connections with the government because he was the king’s personal physician. These connections allowed Aristotle to gain more knowledge. Throughout his life Aristotle made efforts to create order in the government. Aristotle created a classification system in the monarchy (Carr).

He is the person that is responsible for the creation of the study that we now know as Modern biology. Biology is the study of all life he studied it for as long as he lived (Rasmussen). If you are someone that hates biology now you know who is to blame. Science is another thing that Aristotle contributed a large portion of his life to. He loved science as much as he loved to teach (Carr). Being considered the first genuine scientist is a great honor that anyone would enjoy. His work showed one of the earliest forms of knowledge when it came to science and medicine. Aristotle helped us gain a lot of information about all the studies he wrote and learned about (Haslip).

Another study that Aristotle helped us gain knowledge of is meteorology. Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere (Merriman). This study is important because if we did not have it we would be difficult to know what the weather would be like tomorrow or for the rest of the week.

Aristotle also studied taxonomy, nutrients and cosmology as a way to pass time. Taxonomy is the study and classification of animals and organisms (Rasmussen). Besides all of these great things that Aristotle did he also tutored Alexander the Great. Aristotle tutored Alexander since he was a young boy and his grandfather was still the head of the throne (Gill).

In conclusion Aristotle was a very important historical figure. Even after death has helped us learn so much about science, medicine, biology and many more subjects =**References**= Carr, Karen. "Aristotle." //Aristotle for Kids-The Ancient Greek Philosopher Aristotle.// 2012. //History for kids.// Web. 9 Dec. 2014 .**SE #6** Dunn, P.M . "Aristotle (384-322Bc): Philosopher and Scientist of Ancient Greece." //PMC//. Jan. 2006. //NCBI.// Web.13 Sept. 2014. **SE#3** Haslip, Susan . "Aristotle's Theory of the Good Life: A Consideration of the Role of Luck in the Good Life and Concept of Self-Sufficiency." //Quodlibet journal.// volume 5 #1. Jan 2013: //Quodlibet journal//. 18 Sept. 2014. **SE#1** Merriman, D.C . "Biography of Aristotle." //Jalic Inc//. 2006. //The Literature Network//. Web.17 Nov. 2014. **SE#5** N, Gill S. "Aristotle - Greek Philosopher Aristotle." //About Education. 2014. About.com//. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. **SE#2** Rasmussen, Nicolas. "Was Aristotle the Inventor of Science?" //New Scientist.// 22 Sept 2014. //New Scientist//. Web. 4 Nov 2014. **SE#4** [| BrainyQuote]