itics –
Deviating from Plato’s “self-existing good”, Aristotle based the principles of ethics on practicality – as can be gathered from his work Nicomachean Ethics. Furthermore, he specified how ethics is intrinsic to humanity – much akin to the purpose (or function) of the individual, defined as the “activity of the psuchē (soul or spirit) in accordance with reason (logos)”. This optimized activity of the ‘soul’, which traverses both excesses and deficiencies, becomes the aim of the eudaimonia – the state of ‘well being’ (or roughly translated as ‘happiness’).
Related to ethics, Aristotle also talked about the moral virtue that is unique to humans, since he considered morality as the power to control our appetitive (or animalistic) desires. Interestingly enough, the philosopher clarified that too little or too much regulation of our desires can both result in negative outcomes, with the analogy that “excess or deficiency of gymnastic exercise is fatal to strength.”
As for his treatise aptly titled Politics, Aristotle made the famous statement – “man is by nature a political animal”. To that end, he posited that a community of humans rather reflects humanity’s sense of ethics and morality on a collective scale – as it serves as a vehicle for furthering protection and development of other humans. Consequently, he considered the city or polity as the most important institution for the individual, followed by the family.
10) The ‘Reach’ of Aristotle –
The legacy of the rather informal institution of Lyceum (Aristotle’s school) was carried forth by the Peripatetic school, which was
By 6th century AD, the Eastern Roman Empire inherited the tradition of philosophical discourse, with the leading role being played by the Christian Greek scribes who worked tirelessly over generations to copy and compile the extant manuscripts of Aristotle’s works. Quite intriguingly, Aristotle was also held in high regard in the Islamic world, with a significant number of his ancient Greek commentaries being actively translated (into Arabic) and assessed by medieval Muslim philosophers and scientists.
And while, the influence of Aristotle was somewhat mitigated in Western Europe during the early medieval period (possibly due to the dissociation with the Greek realms), 12th – 13th century brought forth the translations by James of Venice and William of Moerbeke and the works of Thomas Aquinas (like Summa Theologica), with the latter considered as one of the pillars of ‘synthesis’ of Aristotelian principles and Christian theology.
However, there were quite a few late medieval and early modern thinkers and men of science who went on to critique (and even dismiss) some of the Aristotelian notions. For example, noted 17th century English physician William Harvey disproved Aristotle’s notion about the heart (as the seat of the ‘soul’) by establishing how the organ biologically functions as a pump. Similarly, Galileo disregarded the geocentric model and the mass-motion relation originally conceived by Aristotle. On the other hand, some eminent 19th century thinkers and scholars, including philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and mathematician George Boole, did their part to praise and support various Aristotelian conceptions like formal logic and ethics.