Aristotle

Aristotle is one of the 16 books that is part of the SSRC Philosophers Series called “Free Thinkers.” The series is an attempt to present the teachings of many of the great philosophers throughout history in a way that average readers without academic backgrounds can easily understand. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) is considered the ancient philosopher with the most significant impact on the intellectual history of the West. He divided knowledge into three parts: productive, practical, and contemplative, and made substantial contributions to both science and philosophy. He wrote over 150 ‘books’ – parchment rolls – covering a vast array of subjects, including ethics, politics, physics, economics, logic, metaphysics, aesthetics, and empirical biology. He is credited with inventing formal logic and is known for his detailed studies of the natural world, including biology and zoology. Most of his works haven’t survived into the modern world, but enough have been preserved to gain an idea of his philosophy and see his influence. Aristotle offers a comprehensive and systematic view of a world that always moves toward its purpose of goodness. He holds that human beings can use their capacity for reasoning to grasp the hidden secrets of this world and the divine. He reasons that there must be a first cause of all motion and change in the cosmos. He calls this cause the “Prime Mover – the eternal and original cause of all that is and moves,” who cannot be moved by something other than itself.