Early Life

Aristotle was born in 384 B.C. in Stagira, Greece. He later died in 322 B.C. in Chalcis, Greece. Aristotle's father, Nicomachus, was a court physician for the Macedonian King at the time. But early in Aristotle's life, his father died. Aristotle's mother, Phaestis, is known to have died when Aristotle was young. Since Aristotle became an orphan, Proxenus of Atarneus, who married Aristotle's sister became his guardian. The Proxenus of Atarneus sent Aristotle to Plato's academy to get a better education.

Aristotle's Contribution

Aristotle wrote over 200 books on Philosophy and Science. He also divided the government into 3 main types of government, monarchy, aristocracy/oligarchy, and democracy. Also, years after Aristotle attended Platonic Academy, he created the Lyceum, which he, Aristotle, ran.

Philosophy

Aristotle thought that people should use their senses to make observations. Aristotle noticed that democracies were run by the poor and that a government run by a few people were run by the rich. He believed the perfect government was run by both types of people. In addition, Aristotle taught his students at the Lyceum the "golden mean". That meant never to do anything in excess. For example, he taught not to eat too much or too little, but just enough to stay healthy

Impact on Modern Life

Aristotle made the 3 basic types of government, which are all used today in our modern world. Aristotle also taught the "golden mean" and even today many people ensure to do everything with a balance, such as eating and exercising. He also wanted a variety of different types of people in a government, and today we have many different types of people as leaders of our country.

Citations

-Journey Across Time textbook

-Bio.com- http://www.biography.com/people/aristotle-9188415