Aristotle

First published Thu Sep 25, 2008; substantive revision Tue Aug 25, 2020

Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.) numbers among the greatest philosophers of all time. Judged solely
in terms of his philosophical influence, only Plato is his peer: Aristotle’s works shaped centuries
of philosophy from Late Antiquity through the Renaissance, and even today continue to be
studied with keen, non-antiquarian interest. A prodigious researcher and writer, Aristotle left a
great body of work, perhaps numbering as many as two-hundred treatises, from which
approximately thirty-one survive.[1] His extant writings span a wide range of disciplines, from
logic, metaphysics and philosophy of mind, through ethics, political theory, aesthetics and
rhetoric, and into such primarily non-philosophical fields as empirical biology, where he
excelled at detailed plant and animal observation and description. In all these areas, Aristotle’s
theories have provided illumination, met with resistance, sparked debate, and generally
stimulated the sustained interest of an abiding readership.
Because of its wide range and its remoteness in time, Aristotle’s philosophy defies easy
encapsulation. The long history of interpretation and appropriation of Aristotelian texts and
themes—spanning over two millennia and comprising philosophers working within a variety of
religious and secular traditions—has rendered even basic points of interpretation controversial.
The set of entries on Aristotle in this site addresses this situation by proceeding in three tiers.
First, the present, general entry offers a brief account of Aristotle’s life and characterizes his
central philosophical commitments, highlighting his most distinctive methods and most
influential achievements.[2] Second are General Topics, which offer detailed introductions to the
main areas of Aristotle’s philosophical activity. Finally, there follow Special Topics, which
investigate in greater detail more narrowly focused issues, especially those of central concern in
recent Aristotelian scholarship.
 1. Aristotle’s Life
 2. The Aristotelian Corpus: Character and Primary Divisions
 3. Phainomena and the Endoxic Method
 4. Logic, Science, and Dialectic
o 4.1 Logic
o 4.2 Science
o 4.3 Dialectic
 5. Essentialism and Homonymy
 6. Category Theory
 7. The Four Causal Account of Explanatory Adequacy
 8. Hylomorphism
 9. Aristotelian Teleology
 10. Substance
 11. Living Beings
 12. Happiness and Political Association
 13. Rhetoric and the Arts
 14. Aristotle’s Legacy
 Bibliography
o A. Translations
o B. Translations with Commentaries
o C. General Works
o D. Bibliography of Works Cited
 Academic Tools
 Other Internet Resources
 Related Entries