Aristotle believed that moral virtue involves finding a balance between extremes. In his Nicomachean Ethics, he gave examples of virtues like courage being the mean between cowardice and rashness. He also discussed intellectual virtues like wisdom being a mean between ignorance and conceit. Overall, Aristotle saw philosophy as concerning universal truths and made seminal contributions to logic, metaphysics, and ethics through developing theories like the four causes and analyzing the good life.

1. Aristotle – Lecture Notes 3
NAME VIEWS CONTRIBUTION Notes
ARISTOTLE General Many believe that
384 - 322 BCE Aristotle's system of
Both Plato and Aristotle saw thought remains the most
philosophy as concerning marvelous and influential
universal truths one ever put together by
any single philosopher
For Plato universal truths exist
separate from particular things
in the material world. Founded the Lyceum
For Aristotle universal truths
(i.e. the essence of things)can
be found by looking at
particular things
Influenced Islamic scholars
Plato’s method was downward,
i.e. from the knowledge of
universal ideas to the
knowledge of particular things
in the material world.
Aristotle’s method was
upward, i.e. from the study of
particular things to a
knowledge of the essence of
things
Metaphysics Metaphysics
1. Theory of Form and The first to have treated
Matter metaphysics as a distinct
discipline
Divides object into form and
matter
Matter is the material that
objects are composed of
Form is the way it is
arranged
Example
a wall and a house have the
same matter (i.e. they are
made up of blocks) but their
forms are different
Change: change occurs
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2. because the same matter
can be arranged in different
ways
Permanence: even though
the form of an object can
change, it is form (the
essence) that provides order
and permanence
Some aspects of the form
change, the essential form
does not. This determines
what a thing is.
Example:
A seed changes as it
develops into a tree. But
these changes are not
random. The essential form
(what determines it to be a
tree) does not change
2. Theory ofCausality
(The Four Causes)
How do things came into
being?
Aristotle says there are 4 kinds
of causes:
1. The material cause
What type of material it is
made of
2. The formal cause
What type/form of thing it is
3. The efficient cause
What caused it to come into
being
4. The final cause (teleology)
The function for which it is
done
3. Theory of Nature
All things have an essential
form that makes them what
they are and a final state
that they are heading to
Example of an acorn and oak
So all things are in motion.
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3. By motion he means any
kind of change
4. Theory of God
God is the eternal cause of
all motion
And the ultimate final cause
of all motion
Everything that moves has a
cause but God does not
So God is the Unmoved
Mover
God is also the ultimate
cause of all things. All things
move towards God as their
final state or goal.
5. Theory of the Soul
Plato taught that the soul
and body were distinct
entities
Aristotle that a human was
a unified being
The soul (psyche) was the
animating force in the body
Inseparable from the body
ETHICS Ethics
How should people live? Ethics as a subject begins
What makes a person good? with Aristotle
Everything that humans do
is aimed at some good
Three most common types
of life.
 a life dedicated to
pleasure
 a life dedicated to
fame &honour
 a life dedicated to
contemplation
The highest human good is
happiness
The life which gives the
greatest happiness is the
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4. one that best uses reason
because using reason is the
essential attribute of a
human
Believed in the golden mean
 this was the middle
between excess and
deficiency (see below)
LOGIC Logic
All arguments can be reduced He single-handedly began
to a simple form, called a the systematic treatment
"syllogism." of Logic, Biology, and
A syllogism is a set of three Psychology.
statements, the third of which
(the conclusion) was His logic was studied in
necessarily true if the first two Europe during the Middle
(the premises) were. Ages
The most important
logician in history because
(1) he was the first to
systematize it as a
discipline and (2) his
system was the dominant
one for about 2,000 years
Aristotle made note (and Plato agreed) that moral virtue is about the exercise of control over
natural feelings, and that good values is indicated through the use of good judgment in finding an
effective balance between extremes. Aristotle thus had a personal value of moderation.
In his Nicomachean Ethics, he gave examples:
VICE (Defect) VIRTUE VICE (Excess)
(Mean)
Cowardice (too little Courage Rashness (too much
confidence) confidence)
Foolhardiness (too little fear) Courage Cowardice (too much fear)
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5. Insensibility (too little Temperance Self-indulgence (too much
pleasure) pleasure)
Meanness or Stinginess (too Liberality Prodigality or Wastefulness
little giving) (too much giving)
Niggardliness (in giving out Magnificence Tastlessness and Vulgarity
large sums of money) (giving out large sums)
Undue Humility (too little Proper Pride Empty Vanity (too much
honor) honor)
Inirascibility (too little anger) Good Temper Irascible (too much anger)
Shamelessness (too little Modesty Bashfulness (too much
shame) shame)
Surliness Friendliness Flattery
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