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Aristotle

2010-07-19T00:29:40Z

Jhildebrandt:

[[Image:Aristotle.gif|thumb|150px|Aristotle]]

'''Aristotle''' (384BC - 322BC) was a [[Greek philosopher]] born in the city of Stageira in Chalcidice. He was a student of [[Plato]] and the tutor of [[Alexander the Great]]. Aristotle emphasized reason and observation of the natural world, and he is believed by many to be one of the most important [[philosopher]] of all [[time]] and the founder of [[empiricism]], the ontological grounding of [[science]]. Aristotle is considered one of the earliest [[political|politics]] thinkers and called politics "The master science"<ref>http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-politics-of-aristotle-by-peter-l-phillips-simpson.jsp</ref>.

Aristotle came to the [[Academy]] when he was seventeen and stayed there for twenty years until the death of [[Plato]]. Aristotle’s approach was in stark contrast to Plato's. Whereas Plato thought all true [[knowledge]] could be obtained [[a priori]]—a [[disembodied]] [[mind]] floating in a featureless void with no sense [[experience]] could work out everything there is to know—Aristotle thought that the natural world needed to be studied and observed for knowledge to be gained. He embarked on the massive task of observing and compiling as much information as possible on everything he could study at the time. In contrast to Plato’s interest in physics and maths, Aristotle was fascinated by biology, and classified over 500 animal species. He ultimately founded his own school, the Lyceum, and equipped it with specimens, libraries, maps and other objects found in modern [[university]].

[[Charles Murray]] said, "He more or less invented [[logic]], which was of pivotal importance in human history (and no other civilization ever came up with it independently)." <ref>http://www.isteve.com/2003_QA_with_Charles_Murray_on_Human_Accomplishment.htm</ref>

Aristotle also formulated [[Virtue Ethics]], a code of living which emphasizes what sort of person we want to be when making a decision, rather than, as tends to be the focus in modern ethical thinking, the motives or the consequences of actions (see ''[[Nicomachean Ethics]]''). When Aristotle's teachings were brought back to Europe at the end of the [[Dark Ages]] by [[Arab]] [[merchant]]s, [[Aquinas]], eager to reconcile Catholicism with Aristotle's secular empiricism, developed [[Natural Law Theory]].

Aristotle was not a [[theist]] and rejected the existence of the [[Greek mythology|old gods]] many Athenians worshiped. However, he recognized the impossibility of an [[infinite regress]] of cause and effect in the natural world, and so postulated the [[Unmoved Mover]] as a [[first cause]] of the natural world. Some argue this makes Aristotle the first recorded [[deism|deist]], though he did not predate certain movements in Egypt and the near East. His Unmoved Mover is similar to the Christian conception of the God of Christ.

Aristotle held many hypotheses about the natural world, some of which were later disproven. He felt that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects which, though intuitive, is false. Like many other Greek philosophers, Aristotle felt there were four basic elements of nature: fire, water, air and earth, and a fifth, ether. These categories of matter were later abondoned by the modern scientific academy with the discovery of the periodic table of elements. Some modern philosophers have pointed out that by not testing many of his more intuitive propositions (e.g. the speed at which objects fall relative to their mass) Aristotle failed to apply his own method of empirical investigation (observation). Contemporary and historical Aristotelian critics agree that his shortcomings are eclipsed by his opus of biological observations and categorization.

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 taxonomy. 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. <ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/</ref> <ref>http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/aris.htm</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==See also==
*[[Socrates]]
*[[Greek Philosophy]]

==External links==
*[http://www.4literature.net/Aristotle/ Works by Aristotle]

[[Category:Deists]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek Philosophers]]

Thomas Hobbes

2010-07-19T00:14:17Z

Jhildebrandt:

[[Image:Bhmvgjhfj.jpg|right|thumb|Thomas Hobbes]]
'''Thomas Hobbes''' (1588-1679) was an English [[philosopher]], political theorist, historian, optical scientist, translator and classicist. Hobbes was notable as one of the founders of [[social contract]] theory, and a forerunner of [[British empiricism]]. As a [[materialism|materialist]], his concept of human existence excluded the [[soul]], with the [[mind]] being given a purely mechanical explanation. He was rumoured to be an atheist, which was illegal in 16th century England.

Hobbes saw matter in motion as the only reality. To him consciousness and thought were mechanical processes of the brain. <ref>The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989</ref>

In Hobbes's most famous work ''Leviathan'' (1651), he wrote that life for humans prior to the foundation of the social contract was "solitary, poore, nasty, brutish and short". Humans had to form collectives in order to protect themselves from one another. This idea was extended by the social philosopher [[John Locke]], who held (most notably in his ''Second Treatise on Government'') that collective effort was necessary for the promotion of economic growth. Hobbes's love of strong leadership led him to support monarchy, although he took the view that any form of government was superior to anarchy.

: ''Government should be like unto a man, strong and hard'' (''Leviathan'' xvii).

== See also ==

*[[Philosophy]]

==References==

<References/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbes, Thomas}}

[[Category:Philosophers]]

Jean Jacques Rousseau

2010-07-19T00:06:50Z

Jhildebrandt:

[[Image:T768.jpg|right|thumb|Jean Jacques Rousseau]]
Swiss-born political [[philosopher]] '''Jean Jacques Rousseau''' (1712-1778) was an influential French essayist, prominent [[liberal]] social theorist and a leading [[Enlightenment]] thinker. He argued that political and moral discourses could not be separated, and that the will of the majority was not always correct. Rousseau also critiqued the legitimacy of [[private property]], and laid the groundwork for future political/social theorists such as [[Karl Marx]]. Rousseau declared that government's goal should be to provide freedom, equality and justice but noted that freedom often results in inequality.

Rousseau's most famous work was ''The Social Contract'' (1762), which supported a direct [[democracy]] based on a "general will" rather than [[republicanism]] such as that adopted 25 years later by the [[U.S. Constitution]]. In it, he further developed the concept of the "[[social contract]]" established by [[Thomas Hobbes]] and [[John Locke]]. Rousseau disapproved of categorical distinctions between social groups. He argued that a liberal conception of human equality should be the basis for human relationships.

Rousseau was critical of [[Catholicism]] along with other institutionalized forms of [[Christianity]], believing that mankind would be better off with his idea of a civil religion wedded to the state<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=IPZa0_Qx0koC&pg=PA16&dq=%22civil+religion%22+rousseau#PPA17,M1 ''Religion as a Public Good''], Alan Mittleman, Rowman & Littlefield, 2003
ISBN 0742531252, 9780742531253, 336 pages, pp. 16-17</ref>.

{{reflist}}

==See also==
[[Humanism#Secular Humanism|Secular Humanism]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rousseau, Jean Jacques}}
[[Category:French Philosophers]]
[[Category:French Revolution]]
[[Category:Enlightenment]]

Jean Jacques Rousseau

2010-07-19T00:06:06Z

Jhildebrandt:

[[Image:T768.jpg|right|thumb|Jean Jacques Rousseau]]
Swiss-born political [[philosopher]] '''Jean Jacques Rousseau''' (1712-1778) was an influential French essayist, prominent [[liberal]] social theorist and a leading [[Enlightenment]] thinker. He argued that political and moral discourses could not be separated, and that the will of the majority was not always correct. However, Rousseau also critiqued the legitimacy of [[private property]], and laid the groundwork for future political/social theorists such as [[Karl Marx]]. Rousseau declared that government's goal should be to provide freedom, equality and justice but noted that freedom often results in inequality.

Rousseau's most famous work was ''The Social Contract'' (1762), which supported a direct [[democracy]] based on a "general will" rather than [[republicanism]] such as that adopted 25 years later by the [[U.S. Constitution]]. In it, he further developed the concept of the "[[social contract]]" established by [[Thomas Hobbes]] and [[John Locke]]. Rousseau disapproved of categorical distinctions between social groups. He argued that a liberal conception of human equality should be the basis for human relationships.

Rousseau was critical of [[Catholicism]] along with other institutionalized forms of [[Christianity]], believing that mankind would be better off with his idea of a civil religion wedded to the state<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=IPZa0_Qx0koC&pg=PA16&dq=%22civil+religion%22+rousseau#PPA17,M1 ''Religion as a Public Good''], Alan Mittleman, Rowman & Littlefield, 2003
ISBN 0742531252, 9780742531253, 336 pages, pp. 16-17</ref>.

{{reflist}}

==See also==
[[Humanism#Secular Humanism|Secular Humanism]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rousseau, Jean Jacques}}
[[Category:French Philosophers]]
[[Category:French Revolution]]
[[Category:Enlightenment]]