Aristotle made unprecedented contributions to all categories of knowledge, but perhaps his greatest gifts came from his examinations of the foundation of “knowledge,” itself. In other words, in the absence of some external authority, such as Plato’s Realm of True Forms which Aristotle rejected, how can human beings “know things.” The philosopher asserted that the basis of knowledge (episteme) lay with an examination of everything […]
The proper balance
As noted in the last post, Aristotle placed a lot of importance on good parenting. To him, the life of a philosopher was, hands down, the best one, but he clearly understood that not everyone could manage it. Aristotle wrote that self-discipline served as a vital pre-condition to a life based on reason, and that required a lifetime of practice. When a parent forbids a […]
A good problem
The fact that Socrates wrote nothing, himself, but made such an impression on others, makes him pretty easy to write about. Moreover, the fact that Plato’s central arguments about the Realm of Pure Forms cannot stand up to rational scrutiny makes discussions of his ideas relatively straightforward. However, when it comes to philosophers who have a vast range of good ideas, matters become much more […]