Biography of Aristotle, Influential Greek Philosopher

Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was one of the most important western philosophers in history. A student of Plato, Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great. He later went on to form his own Lyceum (school) in Athens, where he developed important philosophical, scientific, and practical theories, many of which had great significance during the Middle Ages and are still influential today. Aristotle wrote on logic, nature, psychology, ethics, politics, and art, developed one of the first systems for classifying plants and animals, and posited significant theories on topics ranging from the physics of motion to the qualities of the soul. He is credited with developing deductive (top-down) reasoning, a form of logic used in the scientific process and highly valued in business, finance, and other modern settings. Fast Facts: Aristotle Known For: One of the greatest and most influential philosophers of all time, as well as a tremendously important figure in the history of science, mathematics, and theaterBorn: 384 BCE in Stagira, GreeceParents: Nichomachus (mother unknown)Died: 322 BCE in Chalcis, on the island of EuboeaEducation: Academy of PlatoPublished Works: Over 200 works, including Nichomachean Ethics, Politics, Metaphysics, Poetics, and Prior AnalyticsSpouse(s): Pythias,  Herpyllis of Stagira (mistress with whom he had a son)Children: NicomachusNotable Quote: Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny. Early Life Aristotle was born in 384 BCE in the city of Stagira in Macedonia, a seaport on the Thracian coast. His father Nichomacus was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia. Nichomacus died while Aristotle was still young, so he came under the guardianship of Proxenus. It was Proxenus who sent Aristotle, at age 17, to complete his education in Athens. Upon arriving in Athens, Aristotle attended the institution of philosophical learning known as the Academy, which was founded by Socrates pupil Plato, where he stayed until Platos death in 347. Aristotle was an outstanding pupil and soon began giving his own lectures on rhetoric. Despite his impressive reputation, however, Aristotle often disagreed with Platos ideas; the result was that, when a successor to Plato was selected, Aristotle was passed over in favor of Platos nephew Speusippus. With no future at the Academy, Aristotle was not at loose ends for long. Hermeas, ruler of Atarneus and Assos in Mysia, issued an invitation for Aristotle to join his court. Aristotle remained in Mysia for three years, during which he married the kings niece Pythias. At the end of the three years, Hermeas was attacked by the Persians, leading Aristotle to leave the country and head to the island of Lesbos. Aristotle and Alexander the Great In 343 BCE, Aristotle received a request from King Phillip II of Macedonia to tutor his son Alexander. Aristotle agreed to the request, spending seven years working closely with the young man who would later become the famous Alexander the Great. At the end of seven years, Alexander was crowned king and Aristotles work was complete. Though he left Macedonia, however, Aristotle stayed in close touch with the young king, corresponding regularly; it is likely that Aristotles counsel had a significant impact on Alexander for many years, inspiring his love of literature and the arts. The Lyceum and Peripatetic Philosophy Leaving Macedonia, Aristotle returned to Athens where he set up The Lyceum, a school that became a rival to Platos Academy. Unlike Plato, Aristotle taught that it is possible to determine the end causes and purposes of existence and that it is possible to figure out these causes and purposes through observation. This philosophical approach, called teleology, became one of the major philosophical concepts of the western world. Aristotle divided his study of philosophy into three groups: practical, theoretical, and productive sciences. Practical philosophy included the study of fields such as biology, mathematics, and physics. Theoretical philosophy included metaphysics and the study of the soul. Productive philosophy focused on crafts, agriculture, and the arts. During his lectures, Aristotle would constantly walk back and forth around the Lyceums exercise grounds. This habit became the inspiration for the term peripatetic philosophy, meaning walking around philosophy. It was during this period that Aristotle wrote many of his most important works, which had profound impacts on later philosophical thinking. At the same time, he and his students conducted scientific and philosophical research and amassed a significant library. Aristotle continued to lecture at the Lyceum for 12 years, finally selecting a favorite student, Theophrastus, to succeed him. Death In 323 BCE when Alexander the Great died, the Assembly in Athens declared war against Alexanders successor, Antiphon. Aristotle was considered an anti-Athenian, pro-Macedonian, and so he was charged with impiety. Bearing in mind the fate of Socrates, who was unjustly put to death, Aristotle went into voluntary exile to Chalcis, where he died one year later of a digestive ailment in 322 BCE at the age of 63. Legacy Aristotles philosophy, logic, science, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and system of deductive reasoning have been of inestimable importance to philosophy, science, and even business. His theories impacted the medieval church and continue to have significance today. Among his vast discoveries and creations are included: The disciplines of natural philosophy (natural history) and metaphysicsSome of the concepts that underlie Newtonian laws of motionSome of the first classifications of living things based on logical categories (the Scala Naturae)Influential theories about ethics, war, and economicsSignificant and influential theories and ideas about rhetoric, poetry, and theater Aristotles syllogism is at the basis of deductive (top-down) reasoning, arguably the most common form of reasoning used today. A textbook example of a syllogism is: Major premise: All humans are mortal.Minor premise: Socrates is a human.Conclusion: Socrates is mortal. Sources Mark, Joshua J. Aristotle. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 02 Sep 2009.Shields, Christopher. â€Å"Aristotle.†Ã‚  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 09 July 2015.

Chinas Survival of Crisis Due to Economic Reforms Essay

Chinas Survival of Crisis Due to Economic Reforms In the years before 1976, many unwise policies were carried out which brought China into a crisis of communism, or a state in which communism was threatened. The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution were specifically the main causes of the crisis of communism and the mastermind between these two movements, Mao Zedong, can be held responsible for their initiation. The Great Leap Forward was a great economic failure. Years of famine and intense suffering came about as a result of this skewed project of Maos. Consequently, he was sidelined in the CCP. The direct consequence of this was the Cultural Revolution, as he sought to regain his†¦show more content†¦From post-1976 onwards, Deng Xiaoping and his conservative pragmatist government would bring great reform to China, which would allow her to tide over the troubles caused by the crisis in communism. Indeed, it would seem that his economic reforms were the main reason for Chinas survival, as opposed to political ref orm. Under Deng Xiaoping, action was taken to move China from a Soviet-style command economy to a more capitalist market economy. On the other hand, political reform was not as pronounced as Deng wished to retain the traditional communist style of party dictatorship. When Deng came into power, Chinas economy had not progressed as much as Mao had imagined it would. The crisis in communism had also had an adverse effect on the economy. Dengs catch phrase it doesnt matter if the cat is black or white so long as it catches the mouse encapsulates his entire approach towards economic reform. His economic reforms were very obviously not in line with communism at all but he felt that if they could bring greater prosperity to China, it was worth it to adopt these new measures. The reforms took place largely in rural China. 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Stability of Characters in to Build a Fire and the Tell Tale Heart Free Essays

Henry James’ argues that a character is only as interesting as their responses to a particular situation, can be supported by using any written works that a student may encounter, given that the story has at least one character. I intend to prove that the instability of the main characters in each story will ultimately be their downfall. The story â€Å"To Build a Fire† by Jack London is about a man struggle with nature and his inability to trust his human instinct, and In Edgar Allen Poe’s story â€Å"The Tale-Tell Heart† is about a man who proclaims he is not crazy but plans and executes the murder of an old man. We will write a custom essay sample on Stability of Characters in to Build a Fire and the Tell Tale Heart or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the beginning of â€Å"To build a Fire† the man realizes how cold the weather is outside but he only sees this as a fact and not a threat to his health. Jack London writes â€Å"As he turned to go on, he spat speculatively. There was a sharp, explosive crackle that startled him. He spat again. And again, in the air, before it could fall to the snow, the spittle crackled in the air. Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below-how much colder he did not know. But the temperature did not matter. † (120) This is one example where the main character ignores his human instinct and doesn’t bring items that would cover his face and cheekbones. Also read The Story of an Eyewitness Essay Analysis Any man with common sense knows to bring the right items for the journey if he’s going to be traveling in weather that will be colder than fifty degrees below zero. While on this trip the man is accompanied by a dog that follows the man on his unadvised journey. The dog uses its natural instinct to outlive the man on this trip. The dog is a native husky and I believe represents pure instinct in this story in which the man doesn’t use at all. The dog knows to bite the ice off of his feet so that they do not become frozen from the harsh conditions. He buries himself in the snow when the man cannot start a fire because his hands are too cold to pull his matches out of his pocket. With the dogs keen since of smell he knows when the man is dying and understands that the man wants to kill the dog so that he can insert his hands inside the dog’s carcass to warm him up. In this environment the dog is actually smarter than the man because he uses his natural instincts to stay warm and keep himself alive. In â€Å" The Tale-Tell Heart† the narrator in which is assumed to be a man takes care of n old man who I perceived to be rich. For some strange reason, the narrator was obsessed with the old man’s eye. â€Å"It was open-wide, wide open-and i grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with perfect distinctness- all a dull blue with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones; but I could see nothing else of the old man’s face or person: for I had directed the ray as if by instinct, preci sely upon the damned spot. †(414) The old man was going to be murder for his pale blue eye. For seven straight nights at midnight the eye was closed. It wasn’t until the eight night when the narrator accidently woke the old man up and once the narrator saw that blue eye he began to grow furious and knew that that was the night he had to kill the old man. Normal people would have a look of disgust on their face after committing a murder, but the narrator smiled and then would try and convince himself that he was not mad. After murdering the old man the narrator begins to hear voices in his head. Those voices told him the eye was evil, and that he was doing the right thing. He would also hear a groan of terror many nights at midnight. The narrator could also hear the old man’s heart, even after he had been murdered. It is impossible to hear a person’s heartbeat with the naked ear. He also thought the police officers were laughing at his horror of the heartbeat. The voices caused him to murder, and then caused him to give into the police when he easily could have gotten away with it. These two main characters both have obstacles to conquer in their own ways. In â€Å"To Build a Fire† the main character is fighting and resisting the obvious signs that tell him he should not make the trip in that inclement weather but proceeds anyway. I believe that the man is so arrogant that it makes him ignorant. It seemed to me that the man felt like he was bigger and better than anyone on this planet and not even nature could endanger him. For that very reason was why the man could not make it to his destination, but the dog in which he tried to kill not only survived but also made it to the destination. In â€Å"The Tale-Tell Heart† instead of a fight with nature the narrator is fighting with the voice inside his head or yet another personality. I believe that by day the narrator was a normal man who really cared about taking care of the old man, but by night his alter ego would kick in and basically talk control of his mind. That is why the story keeps going back and forth with trying to convince the reader of his sanity. Although both of the stories are different, the main character mind frames are both fragile and unstable. The may not be fighting the same fight but they are fighting something whether it be nature or the voices in there head. Throughout both of the stories the characters do thing that make the reader wonder. It just goes to show how unstable each character is. How to cite Stability of Characters in to Build a Fire and the Tell Tale Heart, Papers

Ebooks Are Inferior to Real Books free essay sample

Good evening chairperson, ladies and gentleman. It is one thing to down load an eBooks and read it at your convenience but is this experience the same as lying out on the beach reading the latest publication from your favourite novelist with the worry of the device failing | 2. Your expensive device may be stolen while you’re in the surf or sand could enter your devices interface. Ladies and Gentlemen reading from an eBook is simply not the same as reading from a physical printed book as all electronic devices are subject to failures. 3. The topic before us this evening is that â€Å"eBooks are inferior to real books† Not one member of the affirmative team will deny that eBooks have been a great innovation however there are many disadvantages associated with the use of eBooks which would support our team’s argument that traditional books are superior and therefore by definition eBooks are inferior. | 4. We as the Affirmative team define eBooks as electronic copies of books, usually read through an e-reader or computer and real books as physical printed paper copies of books. Tonight we will be discussing this on two key levels: I will discuss the social aspects and my second speaker Tom will address the disadvantages of eBooks from an economic perspective. | 5. Firstly I will address the inferior qualities of eBooks with regard to them denigrating the culture of reading and secondly the notion that print books promote a more holistic and equitable circumstance for people to have a greater access to literature both contemporary and traditional. | 6. Now to my first point, addressing print books and their significant contribution towards promoting a culture of reading. E-Readers are far less capable of presenting artistic illustrations in the same capacity as real books. | 7. Very complex, design-heavy books such as comics do not translate well into eBook format, and in many cases people in possession of older e-reader devices, fail to support all of the technologically advanced features that are included within newly released eBooks and e-readers. | 8. Ladies and Gentleman how are we to cultivate a love for books with future generations if all we have access to is unexciting and uninteresting, dull, black and white text. Think of the long held reading traditions which families employ when raising their children. | 9. Young children will always be interested in beautiful three dimensional illustrations adorned in colour and exciting imagery, not walls of text. The artistic value and interactivity of the children’s books we grew up with is something you certainly cannot replicate with an e-reader. | 10. This is a crucial part of the culture of reading that can and will engage our youth in reading from an early age. For centuries book lovers have enjoyed browsing the shelves in a book store, reading the blurbs and thumbing through the illustrations. This is an important part of the culture of reading, a culture promoted by print books and a culture degraded by eBooks. | 11. This is further vindicated as statistics from over 250 000 surveys conducted by Amazon have revealed that 55% precent of e-books purchased from the kindle or amazon online catalogue have been planned purchases and only 5% of buyers have actually browsed the online catalogue like you would in a real bookstore. | 12. Print books are often utilised for decorative purposes in a home. They can define ones interests’ and even a person’s profession, for example doctors and lawyers often have large libraries of books in their homes. Furthermore print books are often culturally and historically significant for various reasons, can form part of collections, or represent sentimental significance. Ebooks do not have that same utility. | 13. According to Jan Noyes and Kate Garland’s scientific report released in 2008 addressing the cognitive advantages and disadvantages of eBooks; it was discovered that screen reading was found to increase stress and exhaustion levels. Finally, the technology of an e-book can also prove to be a disincentive for prospective readers. | 14. Add to these, the health issues of eye strain, the anxiety of worrying about battery life, damaging the screen of a reading device, its lack of portability in extreme or remote environments, problems of viruses and software bugs and the incompatibility of formats across devices are not issues that the reader of traditional books encounter. | 15. RSI and long periods looking at a screen, plus the possibility that an e-book can be hacked and edited so that the original text could be censored or lack authenticity thus creating several more reasons why e-books can turn people off reading. | 16. All of these significant points refer to the culture of reading which is vital to society as we know it. This now brings me to my second argument that print books promote a more holistic and equitable circumstance for people to have a greater access to literature both contemporary and traditional. | 17. EBooks are often a non-inclusive medium as it is a significant financial investment for individuals to purchase an E-reader. It is difficult for people without substantial financial means to make that investment when their primary focus is directed at providing for their families and their needs. | 18. Traditional books are always more accessible to the general public, in many cases through a library. Libraries provide a free and easy way for people of all socio-economic backgrounds to access books of all varieties and in addition libraries can be accessed locally as there is one in most suburbs. 19. Also, opportunities to read are enhanced because books are a tangible asset that can be easily exchanged, passed on from generation to generation and discarded for other people to pick up cheaply at fetes, book fairs and second hand bookshops. | 20. They are also a valuable resource to be collected and donated to institutions, waiting rooms, schools and third world countries. In other wo rds making them accessible to the general population. Ladies and Gentleman you cannot do this with an eBook! | 21. The reliance of e-books on technology conjures the frightening prospect of a world without literature, recorded historical data, in fact, all of the knowledge and entertainment that is currently held in the traditional manuscript of books and digital media. | 22. What happens if the gadgets and software we need to decode e-books malfunctions, there is a lack of electricity or our digital world collapses? We need traditional books to protect future access to reading for everyone. | 23. Tonight Ladies and gentleman I have argued the social aspects of why eBooks are most definitely inferior to real books. 24. My first point tonight detailed how print books significantly contribute towards promoting a culture of reading whereas eBooks damage that culture and my second point addressed how print books, through libraries promote a more holistic and unified circumstance where it is much easier for people who have less, to gain a greater access to more. | 25. Ladies and gentleman when DVDâ₠¬â„¢s came out people thought that would be the end of cinema. There will always be a place for real books and if eBooks are such remarkable products why are we still publishing books? Comparing e-readers to books is similar to comparing a modern contemporary rock song to a cover, which is never as good as the original. | 26. Every now and again you might get a cover version of a song that is perceived as better than the original but generally speaking more often than not the cover is never as good as the original. You can manipulate it and improve it but when it all comes down to the crunch it is the original that stands the test of time. The same is true for the traditional book which will pass the test of time. |