Aristotle - Essay Example

His connections to specific powerful ruling bodies, and the effects of living under that rule, served as an influence to some of his most remembered works. Some of Aristotles philosophies regarding the emphasis for creation of contentment could still be considered valid in the modern world. Born in 384 B.C., Aristotle, at age 17, was delivered to Athens in order to study under the tutorage of Plato. Plato, well-known for his rather metaphorical work, The Allegory of the Cave, was a well-established figure in the field of higher learning in Ancient Greece.

As inspiration for this work, Plato envisioned the Athenian human condition to be that of a population divided by intellectual capacity. He suggested that 90% of the population were unable to think outside of their senses and must be guarded by the 10% populace who bore philosophical ideals in abstract thinking. Plato further suggests that depth of thought is borne of exposure to various aspects of the truth and, in his Allegory of the Cave, he likens the darkness and solitude of the Cave to that of ignorance.

Aristotle was greatly influenced by the philosophies of Plato and the impact of his influence can be witnessed in many of Aristotles most famous works. Plato also suggested the magnificence of self-analysis and logic (which he often identified such magnificence with only the noble-class learners) as powerful tools for bettering the human condition. Both men shared an affinity for valuing logical contemplation as a means to explore rationalization. Long before Aristotle began to break away from the concepts of his mentor, Aristotle was labeled a brilliant student by his instructor, and most of his philosophical works reflect the basic foundation of thought as passed on by Plato.

In an era where conquest and bloodshed ran rampant across the continent and Athenians looked towards the gods for inspiration, Aristotles most creative aspect of philosophy