Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who lived from 384 to 322 BCE. He was born in Stagira in northern Greece. His father served as a physician to the Macedonian royal court, which likely influenced Aristotle's later interest in biology.
As a young man, he moved to Athens to study at Plato's Academy, where he remained for about twenty years. After Plato's death, he left Athens, spent time in Asia Minor conducting biological research, and then served as tutor to the young Alexander the Great of Macedon. He returned to Athens in 335 BCE to found his own school, the Lyceum. He left Athens again in 323 BCE following Alexander's death and died in exile the next year.
His extensive surviving works are treatises that cover logic, physics, biology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and literary theory. Major titles include the Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, and Poetics. According to modern scholars, these texts represent only a portion of his output; his more popular writings are lost. The exact number and organization of his treatises remain subjects of academic discussion.
Aristotle's historical importance is foundational. He created the first comprehensive philosophical system in the West, inventing and defining entire fields of study. His work in logic, especially his theory of the syllogism, dominated the subject for centuries. His scientific theories shaped medieval thought, and his detailed biological observations were unmatched in the ancient world. His ethical and political ideas, centered on virtue and human flourishing, continue to be central to philosophy. Through later Arabic and Latin translations, he became the central authority for medieval scholars and remains a major figure in contemporary philosophical debate.