Topic > Greek Philosopher: Aristotle - 939

Aristotle is a historical and global face who in his lifetime made some of the most monumental discoveries and conclusions in many fields. These fields are like the topics of logic, metaphysics, law of nature, physics, biology and even the arts. The theories and methods he invented were not only thought of and experienced in his time, but are still believed today. His laws on these matters have stood throughout the years and continue to be followed to this day. Not only is he famous for formulating his own theories, but he is also widely known for disproving previous theories and conclusions that were believed to be true. Aristotle's thoughts, experiments and reasoning changed the modern world as it is known by refuting previous theories and paving the way for science and logic to correctly explain the details of the world. Aristotle was a logical and probative man, even considering logic to be equivalent to verbal reasoning. This system of thought causes the subject-predicate form to be the primary expression of the truth in which its properties are shown to be inherent in certain substances. In every discipline of human knowledge, we try to establish that things of a certain kind have characteristics of a certain kind. Aristotle says, “It is necessary for him, therefore, to assume not only that 'being' has the same meaning, whatever it is predicated of, but further that it means what is right and what is but one” (McKeon 222). By this he means that everything that participates in being is considered to be. The term simply relies on or behaves according to what is morally right and fair. The difference between the two is that we only speak of right and are judged by conscience. Again in terms of logic, he says that “it is clear then… halfway through the paper… how science and logic can correctly explain the details of the world. Aristotle supposed that there must ultimately be an explanation for his current existence and activity. Many generations of Western philosophers, especially those interested in reconciling Christian doctrine with philosophy, would explicitly defend a similar view. Today, philosophers of various stripes continue to look to Aristotle for guidance and inspiration in many different areas, ranging from the philosophy of mind to theories of the infinite, although perhaps Aristotle's influence is seen most openly and avowedly in the revival of virtue ethics that began in the last half of the 20th century. His theories on the inability of matter to be created from nothing and thoughts on metaphysics broke previous ideas believed before him and paved the way for modern beliefs.