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In the Name
of God
Aristotle’s Scientific Path
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One
aspect of the teachings of
Professor
Mosavi
is discussing the lives of philosophers and researchers who
lived before Christ. The reason for this is to make those
who are eager to travel in the world of philosophy and
metaphysics acquainted with the thoughts and scientific
minuteness of the life of a
philosopher.
In
Professor Mosavi’s site we have provided a summary of the
life of Socrates. Now we have decided to outline the lives
of Aristotle and Plato who contributed to Peripatetic
Philosophy. |
Introducing Aristotle:
Aristotle, renowned Greek philosopher known as ‘the first teacher’, was
the leader of the Peripatetic School.
He was also known as Ἀριστοτέλης
or Aristotélēs in Greek. All these names mean ‘lover of
philosophy’ or ‘virtuous scholar’.
The Life of Aristotle Written by
Ahmad Lotfi (One of the pillars of the scientific movement in
Egypt as explained in his book ‘Science of Ethics’):
Aristotle was known as ‘the first
teacher’ and was from Greece.
He was Born in 384 BC and lived 63
years.
He was a student of Plato for 20 years!
Aristotle was held in high esteem
by Plato to a degree that he called him ‘the wisdom of the school’, ‘the
favorite of the school’ and ‘the good student of the school’.
He said: His greatness was to the
extent that he was the founder of formal
logic and ‘the intellect of man’ and everyone was astonished
by his knowledge.
Abu Salman Mantiqi considers ‘Aristotle’s metaphysics’ as a principal.
Shahrzoori
in his book Nizhatul Arvah says:
When Aristotle reached the age of
8, his father took him to Athens, which was then known as ‘the city of
the wise’, and entrusted him into the hands of a teacher who was expert
in the science of clearness and eloquence of language. He spent 9 years
learning literature.
(However, some philosophers at that
time rejected the science of literature and called teachers of
literature ‘teachers of children’. Contrary to this, the Greek called
literature ‘the science surrounding all other sciences’ and believed
that the public needed it and that he who was more eloquent and spoke
using the best words and terms was more worthy of humanity and his words
influenced the hearts.)
After 9 years, when he was 17
he was led astray by different sciences, none
of which satisfied and comforted him. At the age of 27 he turned to
philosophy and became interested in learning metaphysics.
Some say his father,
Nicomachus, was a physician or a king and led a luxurious life.
(At that time the science of medicine was solely with the kings but
from the time of Hippocrates and the Hippocratic Oath its exclusivity
was removed.)
But Aristotle after years of being led astray by different sciences
left all his father’s luxury and turned to philosophy and metaphysics.
His power in knowledge had reached a degree that his teacher, Plato,
described him as follows:
He requires a bridle not a spur!
(Note: A bridle is a harness
fitted about a horse's head and used to restrain or guide the animal. A
spur is a short spike or spiked wheel that attaches to the heel of a
rider's boot and is used to urge a horse forward. What Plato means is
that Aristotle moves so rapidly in knowledge and science that he needs
to be restrained not to be instigated.)
Aristotle’s works:
Logics, nature, theology, ethics
This was a summary of the life of Aristotle but:
Two wise sentences by him:
v He
says: An ignorant person is like a drowning person; advise him but do
not get close! If he is saved you will win and if he drowns you will not
drown along with him.
v He
says: It is necessary for the students of metaphysics to purify their
bodies and souls before commencement of their studies (In other words,
they should free themselves of all imperfections and if they do not do
so, they will not be able to benefit from metaphysics).
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Derived from
Professor Mosavi’s speech of 1998. |
In the coming articles we will continue
discussing Aristotle’s life from the following aspects:
1.
Aristotle’s connection with vilayat (our Imams
from Imam Ali to the twelfth Imam, Imam Zaman) by Mohaghegh Davani
2.
Evolution of one’s essential nature from the viewpoint
of Aristotle
3.
The greatness of Aristotle according to our Prophet
Mohammad (PBUH) (Derived from Nizhatul Arvah by Fazil
Shahrzoori and Kholasatul Hayvan by Abdoljavad Tatavi).
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