today’s thought: The famous ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was mentored by Plato and later became the mentor of none other than Alexander the Great. His observations were influential and laid the foundation for many scientific methods and findings. Let us understand the meaning of this famous quote of Aristotle that ‘Man is a social animal…’
“Man is by nature a social being; a person who is naturally antisocial and not by chance is either subservient to our attention or more than human. Society is something that is prior to the individual. Any person who either cannot live a normal life or is so self-sufficient that he does not need it, and therefore does not participate in society, is either an animal or a god.”
Add Zee News as favorite source
– Aristotle, Politics
Also read: Albert Camus’s quote of the day, ‘You will never be happy….’
meaning of quote
Aristotle’s famous lines about ‘Man is a social animal’ refer to the fact that man is not created to live in isolation. Human beings are meant to survive in the polis (city or state) and would be unable to churn out their highest potential, morality or self-reliance if isolated or alone. This points to the fact that humans need others for security, survival or companionship.
Living in a community, humans flourish and reach their full potential.
Who was Aristotle?
Born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece during the Classical period, Aristotle is considered an ancient Greek philosopher whose writings span a variety of subjects, including the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts.
He was the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy at the Lyceum of Athens, where he followed the Aristotelian tradition while laying the groundwork for the development of modern science. Aristotle’s ideas profoundly shaped medieval scholarship.
After the death of Plato (his master), Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, taught his son Alexander the Great in 343 BC.
Aristotle contributed to almost every field of human knowledge that existed at that time and was the founder of many new fields. according to the philosopher brian magee, “It is doubtful whether any man has ever known as much as he has.”
Aristotle is considered the first scientist.
Pandit Taneli Kukkonen he writes “In the best scholarship of the 20th century Aristotle comes alive as a thinker who grapples with the full impact of the Greek philosophical tradition.”
Some of Aristotle’s students included Aristoxenus, Dicaearchus, Demetrius of Phalerum, Eudemos of Rhodes, Harpalus, Hephaestion, Mneson of Phocis, Nicomachus, and Theophrastus.