The famous conqueror Alexander the Great said in praise of his teacher Aristotle, "If Aristotle lives, thousands of Alexanders can be created, but even thousands of Alexanders together cannot give birth to one Aristotle." He added, "My father is the elder who brought me from heaven to earth, but my teacher is the great elder who took me from earth to heaven."

When Alexander the Great ascended the throne, he was only 20 years old at the time. Alexander was young and inexperienced in ruling, which led his widowed mother to summon a teacher like Aristotle to the palace. Aristotle taught Alexander the Great that "every human being is a servant of God and everyone has the birthright to live a dignified life." Aristotle also enlightened Alexander the Great with the best leadership and the art of speech and he taught some golden principles.

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Short Biography

Aristotle was born in 384 BC in Astagra, Macedonia. His father was a physician in the royal court. Aristotle received his early education (in medicine, wisdom and biology) from his father. He lost his mother's shadow in his childhood. When he was ten years old, his father also died. At the age of 18, he moved to Athens, which was the centre of knowledge and wisdom at that time. Here he was associated with Plato's school until the age of 37, but with time he saw contradictions in his teacher's ideas and teaching method, which he also made the subject of his writings.

At the age of 53, Aristotle founded Madinah al-Hikmat, where he promoted a practical and rational school of thought instead of theoretical and classical methods of knowledge. In the latter part of his life, Aristotle's differences with his disciple Alexander the Great and then, after his death, the sadness forced him to leave Greece. Thus, Aristotle died in Chalcis on March 7, 322 BC.

After Plato

Before the twelfth century AD, Plato held the title of the world's greatest philosopher and educator, but later Aristotle claimed the position as the ultimate authority in every field of thought. Aristotle's father was passionate about anatomy and zoology, and his son was also interested in the same sciences from the beginning. Like the great philosophers, he was very meticulous and investigative in his scientific investigations.

Aristotle's fame as a sage and scholar remained intact even after he was appointed as tutor to Alexander the Great, the grandson of King Amyntas. At the age of 17, Aristotle became a student of Plato and studied his knowledge for twenty years (that is, until Plato's death). After that, Aristotle travelled and taught in Greece for 12 years. When Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia, Aristotle returned to Athens and established the school of philosophy known as the Mashais, or the School of Strollers. The school earned its name because the teacher and the students taught and learned while walking on a long path.

Although Aristotle studied with an idealistic teacher, Plato, he himself was a realist philosopher. Even after two thousand years of scientific testing, scientists have proven the accuracy of this information about biology and psychology. Aristotle's passion for government and the state was so great that he wrote at least 157 treatises on the constitutions of states and cities. Unfortunately, these treatises were lost. Only the Athenian constitution has survived.

Scientific Endeavours

Aristotle excelled in applied physics, composition, and biology, and this is what distinguishes him from earlier philosophers. He was the first scholar to coin scientific terms, to give logic the status of formal knowledge and to lay down formal rules for politics and society. His academy remained the centre of knowledge and art for a long time.

Aristotle's Theories

Aristotle was a great philosopher, scientist, mathematician, teacher, researcher and writer in ancient Greece. The subjects of his writings were physics, metaphysics, poetry, theatre, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, political science, government, ethics, biology and zoology.

Some of his sayings are:

• God is an invisible magnetic force that draws everything towards itself.
• Motion is actually the result of the same attraction that causes life.
• God is selfless; He is free from His appearance.
• Man's honour and uniqueness lie in his strength, intellect and thought.
• A perfect person becomes Ashraf-ul-Makhluqat, and if he is disorganised and wicked, he becomes Arzal-ul-Makhluqat.
• Moderation is the best way.