General Introductionto AristotleWord格式.docx

1、Upon the death of Philip, Alexander succeeded to the kingship and prepared for his subsequent conquests. Aristotles work being finished, he returned to Athens, which he had not visited since the death of Plato. He found the Platonic school flourishing under Xenocrates, and Platonism the dominant phi

2、losophy of Athens. He thus set up his own school at a place called the Lyceum. When teaching at the Lyceum, Aristotle had a habit of walking about as he discoursed. It was in connection with this that his followers became known in later years as the peripatetics, meaning to walk about. For the next

3、thirteen years he devoted his energies to his teaching and composing his philosophical treatises. He is said to have given two kinds of lectures: the more detailed discussions in the morning for an inner circle of advanced students, and the popular discourses in the evening for the general body of l

4、overs of knowledge. At the sudden death of Alexander in 323 BCE., the pro-Macedonian government in Athens was overthrown, and a general reaction occurred against anything Macedonian. A charge of impiety was trumped up against him. To escape prosecution he fled to Chalcis in Euboea so that （Aristotle

5、 says） The Athenians might not have another opportunity of sinning against philosophy as they had already done in the person of Socrates. In the first year of his residence at Chalcis he complained of a stomach illness and died in 322 BCE. 2. WritingsIt is reported that Aristotles writings were held

6、 by his student Theophrastus, who had succeeded Aristotle in leadership of the Peripatetic School. Theophrastuss library passed to his pupil Neleus. To protect the books from theft, Neleuss heirs concealed them in a vault, where they were damaged somewhat by dampness, moths and worms. In this hiding

7、 place they were discovered about 100 BCE by Apellicon, a rich book lover, and brought to Athens. They were later taken to Rome after the capture of Athens by Sulla in 86 BCE. In Rome they soon attracted the attention of scholars, and the new edition of them gave fresh impetus to the study of Aristo

8、tle and of philosophy in general. This collection is the basis of the works of Aristotle that we have today. Strangely, the list of Aristotles works given by Diogenes Laertius does not contain any of these treatises. It is possible that Diogenes list is that of forgeries compiled at a time when the

9、real works were lost to sight. The works of Aristotle fall under three headings: （1） dialogues and other works of a popular character; （2） collections of facts and material from scientific treatment; and （3） systematic works. Among his writings of a popular nature the only one which we possess of an

10、y consequence is the interesting tract On the Polity of the Athenians. The works on the second group include 200 titles, most in fragments, collected by Aristotles school and used as research. Some may have been done at the time of Aristotles successor Theophrastus. Included in this group are consti

11、tutions of 158 Greek states. The systematic treatises of the third group are marked by a plainness of style, with none of the golden flow of language which the ancients praised in Aristotle. This may be due to the fact that these works were not, in most cases, published by Aristotle himself or durin

12、g his lifetime, but were edited after his death from unfinished manuscripts. Until Werner Jaeger （1912） it was assumed that Aristotles writings presented a systematic account of his views. Jaeger argues for an early, middle and late period （genetic approach）, where the early period follows Platos th

13、eory of forms and soul, the middle rejects Plato, and the later period （which includes most of his treatises） is more empirically oriented. Aristotles systematic treatises may be grouped in several division: Logic Categories （10 classifications of terms） On Interpretation （propositions, truth, modal

14、ity） Prior Analytics （syllogistic logic） Posterior Analytics （scientific method and syllogism） Topics （rules for effective arguments and debate） On Sophistical Refutations （informal fallacies） Physical works Physics （explains change, motion, void, time） On the Heavens （structure of heaven, earth, el

15、ements） On Generation （through combining material constituents） Meteorologics （origin of comets, weather, disasters） Psychological works On the Soul （explains faculties, senses, mind, imagination） On Memory, Reminiscence, Dreams, and Prophesying Works on natural history History of Animals （physical/

16、mental qualities, habits） On the parts of Animals On the Movement of Animals On the Progression of Animals On the Generation of Animals Minor treatises Problems Philosophical works Metaphysics （substance, cause, form, potentiality） Nicomachean Ethics （soul, happiness, virtue, friendship） Eudemain Et

17、hics Magna Moralia Politics （best states, utopias, constitutions, revolutions） Rhetoric （elements of forensic and political debate） Poetics （tragedy, epic poetry） 3. LogicAristotles writings on the general subject of logic were grouped by the later Peripatetics under the name Organon, or instrument.

18、 From their perspective, logic and reasoning was the chief preparatory instrument of scientific investigation. Aristotle himself, however, uses the term logic as equivalent to verbal reasoning. The Categories of Aristotle are classifications of individual words （as opposed to propositions）, and incl

19、ude the following ten: substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, situation, condition, action, passion. They seem to be arranged according to the order of the questions we would ask in gaining knowledge of an object. For example, we ask, first, what a thing is, then how great it is, next

20、of what kind it is. Substance is always regarded as the most important of these. Substances are further divided into first and second: first substances are individual objects; second substances are the species in which first substances or individuals inhere. Notions when isolated do not in themselve

21、s express either truth or falsehood: it is only with the combination of ideas in a proposition that truth and falsity are possible. The elements of such a proposition are the noun substantive and the verb. The combination of words gives rise to rational speech and thought, conveys a meaning both in

22、its parts and as a whole. Such thought may take many forms, but logic considers only demonstrative forms which express truth and falsehood. The truth or falsity of propositions is determined by their agreement or disagreement with the facts they represent. Thus propositions are either affirmative or

23、 negative, each of which again may be either universal or particular or undesignated. A definition, for Aristotle is a statement of the essential character of a subject, and involves both the genus and the difference. To get at a true definition we must find out those qualities within the genus whic

24、h taken separately are wider than the subject to be defined, but taken together are precisely equal to it. For example, prime odd and number are each wider than triplet （i.e., a collection of any three items, such as three rocks）; but taken together they are just equal to it. The genus definition mu

25、st be formed so that no species is left out. Having determined the genus and species, we must next find the points of similarity in the species separately and then consider the common characteristics of different species. Definitions may be imperfect by （1） being obscure, （2） by being too wide, or （

26、3） by not stating the essential and fundamental attributes. Obscurity may arise from the use of equivocal expressions, of metaphorical phrases, or of eccentric words. The heart of Aristotles logic is the syllogism, the classic example of which is as follows: All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal. The syllogistic form of logical argumentation dominated logic for 2,000 years. 4. Metaphysicss editors gave the name Metaphysics to his wo