Aristotle was born at a time when Greek learning
was at its height, and perhaps he himself was the culmination.
There were important scientists, mathematicians, and thinkers before
and after him, but the two greatest intellectuals produced by the
Greek civilization were Plato and Aristotle. Plato was about forty-
five years older than Aristotle, and thus Plato served as Aristotle's
mentor. But, by the time Aristotle entered the Academy at the age
of eighteen, it was no longer a thriving place full of youthful
enthusiasm. Works such as the Republic, Phaedo, and
the Symposium had already reached the status of
revered classics, though they were not above criticism. The Academy
was still the center for learning, of course, but the Socratic spirit
had died down. This shift was reflected in Plato's later dialogues,
which consisted of much more exposition than genuine exchange.
Nevertheless, the Academy had a profound influence on
Aristotle's development, and although he departed from his master's thought
significantly, many of the Academy's fundamental principles still
served as the foundation of his work. Aristotle had a great deal
to build on and to respond to, particularly in Plato's metaphysics
and politics. For example, he would come to disagree with Plato's
Theory of Forms, which he saw as empty idealism that served no purpose
for the material world. His own politics again built on the fundamental
principles of Plato, as he concurred with certain principles of
the ruling aristocracy but devised his own vision of the ideal
state. In other areas he had very little precedent from which to
work. He virtually invented the field of logic, and he reinvented
the previously insignificant field of biology. While this was going
on, he inevitably distanced himself from the Academy, whose focus
had become more mathematical.
Politically, Athens had ceased to be the great power of
Greece, though it remained a cultural center. Macedonia had risen
under the leadership of Philip II, and after him Alexander would
conquer the Persian Empire and unite the reluctant Greek states
under his power. Aristotle himself was a resident alien in Athens,
and his affiliation with Macedonia–through his father's position
as court physician and his tutorship of Alexander–put him in an
uneasy position. Twice he would have to leave for his own safety.
The first time was after Plato's death, when Philip and Macedonia
began to show signs of aggression, and the second was after Alexander's death,
when the Macedonian empire was bound to be dismantled.
The spirit of the Athenian city-state played a large role
in Aristotle's political thought. He saw political participation
as essential for individual fulfillment, and this relationship
between man and community served as the fundamental principle behind
his Politics. Whether Aristotle could have thrived
in any other environment has never been seriously considered, for
his work is so closely tied to his time and place. In writing his Poetics, he
had a wealth of Greek literature to examine, including works that
still remain a part of the Western canon. Aristotle's influence
on the development of Western thought was far from an individual
achievement, but it would not be unfair to say that he stands above
any other single figure as the embodiment of Western learning.
