Short speech about Aristotle

This speech is about the great ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle. He was an amazing individual who possessed a massive amount of talents, from mastery of rhetoric to interest in physiology. Aristotle lived during the fourth century B.C. in ancient Greece. The culture of the Greeks during this time differs greatly from our present day life and times. Aristotle came into contact with many great men of history, from Plato his instructor and mentor to Alexander the Great, conqueror and ruler of the east. The works of Aristotle have left many after him to contemplate his theories and attitudes toward life and his Realism movement.

Aristotle was born in 384 B.C. in a town just outside the borders of the Macedonian Empire, called Stageira. He was rumored to have been raised in the customs of the Asclepiad. When Aristotle turned seventeen his father, Nicomachus died and he was put under the care of Proxenus of Atarneus, who sent him to Athens to further his education under the tutorship of the great philosopher, Plato. It was at Plato’s Academy that Aristotle was recognized for his potential and was able to grow in knowledge and understanding of philosophy. It was not long before Aristotle became known as ‘the Mind of the School’ and he stayed there for about twenty years. During this time Aristotle became well known and respected as a writer and orator.

His philosophy however grew to differ greatly from that of his mentor’s, as well as against those of the previously mentioned, Socrates. His arguments against his teacher’s philosophies were centered on the Platonic theory of Forms. Aristotle started the Realism movement which objected to the idea that the material world is unimportant. He disagreed with the belief that the true reality existed through universal ideas, truths, and forms. He had no room in his views for imagination and what he saw as guesses at truths. When Plato died in 347 B.C., Aristotle was thought to be the natural person to take over his work. Plato’s nephew, Speusippus, however was named to run the Academy.

Then later on, Aristotle left for the city of Chalcis, where he sought temporary refuge and planned to return to Athens following the expected re-invasion by Macedonia. Fate had something different in mind for Aristotle, he died in 322 B.C. of a sudden illness at the age of sixty-three. Aristotelian thought has progressed and influenced cultures for nearly two millenniums. His founding and development of the theories behind the Realism movement created the debates that were engaged in during the greater part of the middle ages. His immense contributions to the natural sciences serve to be the basis of the standard curriculum for students and learners everywhere. Aristotle was clearly and impressive figure of history and philosophy for whom we should hold much respect and admiration.