Aristotle was known as the 'master of those who know'. A foundational thinker in every field of inquiry, he is unmatched even by his teacher Plato for his extraordinary range of mind.
Introducing Aristotle guides the reader through an explosion of theories, from the establishment of systematic logic to the earliest rules of science. Aristotle not only composed the first theory of aesthetics, but also developed a rational psychology, a political science and an outline of sociology, giving us the virtue theory of ethics that is still debated today. His contributions to metaphysics - on being, existence, substance and causality - continue to permeate modern philosophy. Certainly, no postmodernist debate is complete without an understanding of the impact of his investigations into dialectics and semiotics.
Aristotle's authority extended beyond his own lifetime to influence fundamentally Islamic philosophy and medieval scholasticism. For fifteen centuries he remained the paradigm of knowledge itself - until 17th-century empiricists attempted to discredit the 'scientific' nature of his methods. But can Aristotelian realism still be used to underpin our conception of the world today?
