Scribd
Upload
5 views4 pages

PHL 101 notes

Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher known for his contributions to various fields including logic, metaphysics, and ethics, and he founded the Lyceum in Athens. Key concepts in his philosophy include substance and essence, the four causes, potentiality and actuality, the unmoved mover, and the principles of Aristotelian logic. He emphasized ethics as a pursuit of virtue leading to eudaimonia, and his political philosophy advocated for a mixed government that promotes the common good.

Uploaded by

nupurrrr.tews05
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
5 views4 pages

PHL 101 notes

Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher known for his contributions to various fields including logic, metaphysics, and ethics, and he founded the Lyceum in Athens. Key concepts in his philosophy include substance and essence, the four causes, potentiality and actuality, the unmoved mover, and the principles of Aristotelian logic. He emphasized ethics as a pursuit of virtue leading to eudaimonia, and his political philosophy advocated for a mixed government that promotes the common good.

Uploaded by

nupurrrr.tews05
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Aristotelian Philosophy – Summary Notes

🧠 Who Was Aristotle?


●​ Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher, student of Plato, and tutor to
Alexander the Great.​

●​ He wrote on logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, biology, physics, and rhetoric.​

●​ Known for founding the Lyceum, a school in Athens.​

🧩 Key Concepts in Aristotelian Philosophy


1. Substance and Essence

●​ Substance (ousia): That which exists independently and is the subject of change.​

●​ Essence: What makes a thing what it is (its defining nature).​

●​ Every individual thing is a composite of form and matter.​

2. The Four Causes

Aristotle explains why things exist or happen through four types of causes:

Cause Type Explanation Example (Statue)

Material What something is made of The marble

Formal The shape or form it takes The shape of the statue

Efficient The agent or process that causes The sculptor


it

Final (Telos) The purpose or goal To honor someone or


decorate
Final causes relate closely to teleology (study of purpose in nature).

3. Theory of Potentiality and Actuality

●​ Potentiality: Capacity to change or become something.​

●​ Actuality: The fulfillment of that potential.​

●​ E.g., an acorn is potentially an oak tree; the oak is its actuality.​

4. The Unmoved Mover

●​ To explain eternal motion in the universe, Aristotle proposes a first cause that itself is
unmoved.​

●​ This is a pure actuality, not potential, and causes motion by being the object of desire
or aspiration.​

●​ Often interpreted as God in a philosophical (not religious) sense.​

5. Aristotelian Logic (Syllogism)

●​ Aristotle is the father of formal logic.​

●​ Syllogism: A logical argument with two premises and a conclusion.​

Example:

●​ All humans are mortal.​

●​ Socrates is a human.​

●​ Therefore, Socrates is mortal.​


6. Ethics (Nicomachean Ethics)

●​ Eudaimonia: The highest human good; often translated as flourishing or happiness.​

●​ Achieved by living a life of virtue in accordance with reason.​

●​ Ethics is about habitual character, not rules.​

●​ The Doctrine of the Mean: Virtue lies between two extremes (e.g., courage is between
cowardice and recklessness).​

7. Politics

●​ Humans are “political animals” – we naturally live in communities.​

●​ The polis (city-state) is the highest form of community.​

●​ The best political system promotes virtue and the common good.​

●​ Advocates for a mixed government (monarchy, aristocracy, and polity).​

8. Metaphysics

●​ Seeks the first principles of being and reality.​

●​ Studies “being qua being” – being as such, not just physical or observable
phenomena.​

●​ Belief in a hierarchical universe where everything has a place and purpose.​

9. Differences from Plato


Topic Plato Aristotle

Theory of Forms Forms exist in a separate realm Forms exist within things (immanent)
Knowledge Rational insight into eternal truths Empirical observation + reason

Soul–Body Soul is imprisoned in the body Soul is the form of the body

You might also like