Aristotle
Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)
Considered one of the greatest thinkers of ancient Greece, alongside Plato, he profoundly influenced the direction and content of Western intellectual history. The philosophical and scientific systems he established underpinned medieval Christian thought and Scholasticism for centuries. Western culture was Aristotelian until the late 17th century, and even after the scientific revolution that spanned hundreds of years, Aristotelianism remained deeply rooted in Western thought.
Aristotle's areas of study were incredibly diverse, encompassing physics, politics, ethics, rhetoric, and more. However, his greatest achievements lie in his research in formal logic and zoology. While Aristotle's zoology is now outdated, no one surpassed his research in terms of observation and theory until the 19th century. His syllogistic reasoning is now just a small part of formal logic, but his ethics, politics, metaphysics, and philosophy of science are still debated among contemporary philosophers.
○ Humor is the only tool that allows us to examine seriousness. For a subject without humor is suspicious, and humor without serious contemplation is a false wit.
○ To be aware or conscious of thinking is tantamount to being conscious of our own existence.
○ Character is revealed by showing what one chooses or avoids, thus demonstrating moral intent.
○ Piety compels one to value truth over friendship.
○ I believe that the person who overcomes his desires is braver than the person who conquers his enemies.
○ The excellence of character is largely connected with taking pleasure in duty and hating the opposite.
○ On the stage of life, honor and reward are given to those who exhibit good qualities.
○ People generally desire good, not simply what the previous generation possessed.
○ One swallow does not make a summer, nor does one fine day; similarly, one day or a short time of happiness does not make a man entirely happy.
○ Youth, because it is quick to hope, is also easily deceived.
○ The nature of desire is to be insatiable, and the ordinary person lives in pursuit of immediate gratification of desire.
○ Only a state where all are equal before the law is a stable state.
○ Social order is centered only within justice.
○ Let those who know, act. Let those who understand, teach.
○ Those who are best able to rule should rule.
○ Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
○ Excellence is not just knowing, but also striving to achieve excellence and putting it into practice.
○ There can be no great genius without a touch of madness.
○ One swallow does not make a summer.
○ We go to war in order to live in peace.
○ If you enjoy your work, the quality of your work will improve.
○ We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
○ It is good to rise before dawn. Such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.
○ We learn the things that we need to learn before we are able to do them by doing them.
○ The ideal person endures the misfortunes of life without losing dignity and decorum, and uses the situation to the best of their ability with a positive attitude.
○ A friend to one is not necessarily a friend to all.
○ One who does not know how to follow cannot be a good leader.
○ Misfortune shows who our true friends are and who are not.
○ Human beings acquire particular qualities by acting in a certain way repeatedly. By acting rightly, one becomes a righteous person; by acting temperately, one becomes a temperate person; by acting bravely, one becomes a brave person.
○ A teacher should be respected more than a parent, because while parents give life, a teacher gives the skills to live well.
○ Every human action has one or more of seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.
○ It is a mark of an educated person to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
○ Education is the best provision for old age.
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