World University of Bangladesh

History of Western Thoughts

(HIS 102)

Workshop

Submitted by:
Tashfeen Ahmed
Roll # 1425
Batch: 46/A
(Department of English)
 Aristotle's main contribution to Western Philosophy

The ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle’s thoughts determined the
course of Western intellectual history for two millennia. He was the son of the court
physician to Amyntas III, grandfather of Alexander the Great. In 367 he became a
student at the Academy of Plato in Athens; he remained there for 20 years. After
Plato’s death in 348/347, he returned to Macedonia, where he became tutor to the
young Alexander. In 335 he founded his own school in Athens, the Lyceum. His
intellectual range was vast, covering most of the sciences and many of the arts.

1. Aristotle worked in physics, chemistry, biology, zoology, and botany; in

psychology, political theory, and ethics; in logic and metaphysics; and in history,
literary theory, and rhetoric. He invented the study of formal logic, devising for it a
finished system, known as syllogistic, that was considered the sum of the discipline
until the 19th century; his work in zoology, both observational and theoretical, also
was not surpassed until the 19th century. His ethical and political theory, especially
his conception of the ethical virtues and of human flourishing (“happiness”),
continues to exert influence in philosophical debate. He wrote prolifically; his major
surviving works include the Organon, De Anima (“On the Soul”), Physics,
Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Eudemian Ethics, Magna Moralia, Politics,
Rhetoric, and Poetics, as well as other works on natural history and science.

2. Aristotle’s intellectual range was vast, covering most of the sciences and many of
the arts, including biology, botany, chemistry, ethics, history, logic, metaphysics,
rhetoric, and philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, physics, poetics, political
theory, psychology, and zoology. He was the founder of formal logic, devising for it
a finished system that for centuries was regarded as the sum of the discipline; and he
pioneered the study of zoology, both observational and theoretical, in which some of
his work remained unsurpassed until the 19th century.
But he is, of course, most outstanding as a philosopher. His writings in ethics and
political theory as well as in metaphysics and the philosophy of science continue to
be studied, and his work remains a powerful current in contemporary philosophical
debate.
3. Most of Aristotle’s surviving works, with the exception of the zoological treatises,
probably belong to this second Athenian sojourn. There is no certainty about their
chronological order, and indeed it is probable that the main treatises were in the
western philosophy on physics, metaphysics, psychology, ethics, and politics which
were constantly rewritten and updated. Every proposition of Aristotle is fertile of
ideas and full of energy, though his prose is commonly neither lucid nor elegant.

4. Aristotle’s writings show that even he realized that there is more to logic than
syllogistic. The De interpretation, like the Prior Analytics, deals mainly with general
propositions beginning with Every, No, or Some. But its main concern is not to link
these propositions to each other in syllogisms but to explore the relations of
compatibility and incompatibility between them. Every swan is white and No swan
is white clearly cannot both be true; Aristotle calls such pairs of propositions
“contraries.” They can, however, both be false, if—as is the case—some swans are
white and some are not. Every swan is white and some swan is not white, like the
former pair, cannot both be true, but—on the assumption that there are such things as
swans—they cannot both be false either. If one of them is true, the other is false; and
if one of them is false, the other is true. Aristotle calls such pairs of propositions
“contradictories.”
 Three characteristics of the Renaissance

Renaissance was a period of greater learning and curiosity that led many learners and
artists to develop and engage in new forms of art. Renaissance brought about several
changes. And these are changes that are still influencing the modern world, even up
till presently.

3 characteristics of the Renaissance period are discussed below:

1. Faith in the nobility of man- Humanism: Prior to Renaissance was the
Renaissance Humanism which contributed immensely to the rise of the Renaissance.
Note that Renaissance Humanism is not the same as Humanism.
Humanism was a major offshoot and characteristic of the Renaissance period while
the Renaissance Humanism was an intellectual movement that began in the 13th
century. The major ideal of the philosophy was tied around the study of classical
texts, and the alteration of these classical thinking by more contemporary ones. As in
the 15th century, Renaissance Humanism had become the dominant form of
education.
Renaissance Humanism was very instrumental to the reign of the Renaissance. It was
popular and predominant during the period. This was to the extent that the church
had to support and even “patron” it. Humanists shared the belief that God created
humans with so many potentials and abilities, and to get the best of them, one has to
dignify himself and esteem himself rightly.
So they felt that they had the responsibility to act on this belief and make the most of
it. Through humanism, Art especially enjoyed the support of the church. The church
began to finance and sponsor creative ventures and education. And with the high-rate
of patronage from the wealthy royals, there was always a ready market for the
paintings that were made.
2. Rebirth of Naturalism: This is another characteristic of Renaissance Art that
brought about change in world patterns.
At the period, there was the rise of anatomical drawings and paintings. The Italian
Renaissance artist-Leonardo da Vinci pioneered this move. He set the standard for
drawing and painting anatomically correct bodies. He birthed this out of his quest to
thoroughly understand the human body. He did this by performing 20 autopsies
while drawing that entire he found in the human body, the way he saw them. He then
incorporated what he learned of bone structures, musculature, and organ placement
(from the bodies he drew or painted), into the body of knowledge.
Italian Renaissance artists integrated figures into complex scenes that permitted a
broader perspective and a glimpse into the lives of the wealthy or rich. Light,
shadow, and perspective were used effectively to draw attention to figures in
paintings. Leonardo Da Vinci was considered to be a scientist as well as an artist.

3. Secularism: Secularism; which is the last characteristic I’ll dwell on, was also a
useful force. It is the transition of predominant beliefs and thought patterns from
religious themes to broader themes and also the incorporation of practices such as
architecture and sculpture. Renaissance artists portrayed non-religious themes;
meanwhile, Medieval Art was exclusively religious in nature.
During Medieval times, most people believed the world would end in the year 1,000
A.D., so they believed that any other art subject was inappropriate.
Renaissance art focused on religious subjects, and Bible characters. So the trend
gradually shifted toward the painting of scenes that were not religious.
One of the earliest Renaissance examples of a non-religious theme was van Eyck’s
revolutionary “Arnolfini Marriage.” Jan van Eyck employed the art of depth and
reflection by adding a mirror on the back wall. That way, the people that viewed the
picture got a reflection of themselves in the view of the painting.