You can learn a lot from reading philosophy books, but you will acquire practical wisdom much faster by studying the life of philosophers. By looking at what they actually did, you will draw more accurate conclusions than by looking at what they said.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) is no exception in this respect. His books about metaphysics and logic are impressive, but we can draw practical lessons more directly by looking at his life. It’s a simple, straightforward manner to see philosophy in action.

In 384 BC, Aristotle was born in Stagira, a small city on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. Aristotle’s father (his name was Nicomachus) was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia.

Thanks to his elevated position, Nicomachus gave Aristotle the best upbringing available. The efforts bore fruit fairly soon because Aristotle possessed an insatiable curiosity.

He wanted to learn all kind of things even before he could comprehend the benefits of pursuing knowledge and truth. His interests covered abstract subjects and concrete applications. In particular, he spent hours on end studying the local flora and fauna.

Plato’s role in Aristotle’s pursuit of knowledge and truth

Upon turning seventeen, Aristotle travelled to Athens with the goal of enrolling in Plato’s Academy, which possessed the best reputation amongst all schools.

At that time, Athens’ philosophical discourse was dominated by Plato (428-349 BC) and Socrates (469-388 BC), but despite his admiration for them, the young Aristotle began to develop his own philosophy.

In the Academy, Aristotle listened to Plato speak about ideal forms (abstractions), but little by little, he complemented them with empirical observation.

The teaching method in the Academy resembled a Socratic dialogue, where Plato asked abstract questions, and Aristotle gave answers illustrated with real-life examples.

In view of his Plato’s age (he was forty-four year older than Aristotle), he played the role of a philosophical father. Plato’s influence on Aristotle was reinforced by the fact that Aristotle’s father had passed away decades earlier.

The historian Diogenes Laertius wrote in the third century a book titled “Lives of Eminent Philosophers” that compiles the facts and legends about Greek philosophers such as Heraclitus, Epicurus, Diogenes, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

According to Laertius, Aristotle’s evolution from student at Plato’s Academy to developing his own ideas was seamless and without friction.

Laertius’ assessment is confirmed by the fact that Aristotle had written very appreciatively of Plato in the “Nicomachean Ethics.” In particular, Aristotle thanks Plato for having set the basic structure that sustain the edifice of philosophy.

The Greek historian Xenophon (428-354 BC) also wrote in favourable terms about the influence of Plato on Aristotle. All sources coincide in saying that the relation between Plato and Aristotle was excellent.

Aristotle’s pursuit of knowledge and truth after Plato’s death

When did Aristotle start precisely to develop his own ideas? The distensions between Plato and Aristotle must have started around 355 BC. The best records we have are a few paragraphs in Aristotle’s book “Metaphysics,” which presents a summary of his departure from Plato’s theory of forms.

When Plato passed away in 349 BC, his disciple Speusippus (407-339 BC) took over as director of the Academy. His desire to keep the Academy loyal to Plato’s abstractions didn’t please Aristotle, who had become increasingly interested in empirical observations and the study of nature.

As a result, Aristotle left the Academy with the intention of never returning. In his book “Poetics,” he speaks in positive terms of his peers at the Academy. Speusippus and the other teachers were dedicated men, but Aristotle had outgrown them. He no longer had anything to learn from them.

In the field of nature studies, Plato’s “Timaeus” didn’t exert much influence on Aristotle because “Timaeus” contains little more than speculation. It lacks the sharp, realistic observations typical of Aristotle.

Politics is the area in which Plato’s ideas kept influencing Aristotle for the longest time. It cannot be denied that there are many similarities between Plato’s “Republic” (around 360 BC) and Aristotle’s “Politics” (around 340 BC).

After leaving the Academy, Aristotle wrote “On the Soul” in order to reaffirm Plato’s philosophy but by adding references to history, he began his departure from Plato’s pure abstractions.

Aristotle’s “Prior Analytics” (around 345 BC) represents the breaking point with Plato’s philosophy. It leaves behind Plato’s theory of forms to embrace the principles of identity, causality, and non-contradiction.

Subsequently, Aristotle’s “Posterior Analytics” gives a final, strong rebuttal of Plato’s epistemology. It rejects Plato’s views about learning by recollection from a mythical world of forms. Instead, it favours empirical methods for acquiring knowledge.

Aristotle’s pursuit of knowledge and truth through travelling

The years after leaving Plato’s Academy, Aristotle travelled in the Mediterranean, staying for long periods in Assos, Lesbos and Pyrrha. He married Pythias and devoted a good part of his time to studying botany and animal physiology.

Upon turning forty, Aristotle received an invitation from the King of Macedonia, Philip II, who was looking for a tutor for his son Alexander, the future conqueror Alexander the Great.

Aristotle took the job and found himself in a key position in the Macedonian court. He taught Alexander rhetoric, politics, logic, and natural sciences. His work at the Macedonian court ended in 335 BC, shortly after the death of King Philip II.

Upon returning to Athens, Aristotle created his own school, the Lyceum. It was located two kilometres away from the Stoa and the Parthenon.

Aristotle’s pursuit of knowledge and truth in the Lyceum

In contrast to Plato’s Academy, lessons at the Lyceum were based on empirical observation and consistent logic. Its range of subjects expanded from metaphysics and logic to art theory, ethics, rhetoric, botany, astronomy, physics and physiology.

During this period, Aristotle wrote the “Eudemian Ethics,” “Politics,” the “Nicomachean Ethics” and other major works.

His wife Pythias passed away and afterwards he lived together with Herpylis, who gave birth to their son Nicomachus.

In 323 BCE, Alexander passed away and his empire split in several kingdoms. Athens had suffered under Alexander’s rule, and the population began to ask for revenge.

Virulent anti-Macedonian feelings in Athens made Aristotle fear for his life. Thus, he entrusted the Lyceum to his pupil and friend Theophrastus (370-288 BC) and took refuge in Chalcis, a nearby city where he died shortly after.

Aristotle viewed the pursuit of knowledge and truth as a key element of “eudaimonia” (happiness, flourishing, or thriving). It is not an exaggeration to say that Aristotle spent most of life gathering new knowledge, driven by his enormous curiosity.

The lesson should not escape us and it is worth recalling it over and over again: happiness is a dynamic process connected to self-actualization. By increasing our skills and knowledge, we can achieve more and enjoy life more.

If you are interested in applying Aristotle’s ideas to solving problems, I recommend you my book titled “Asymmetry: The shortcut to success when success seems impossible.”

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