Aristotle was probably the brightest person ever to live on earth. He was a philosopher, author, teacher, and scientist who dominated the world of knowledge like no scholar before him or since. His primary gift to the world was proof that the universe was not controlled by blind chance or magic, but by a set of rational laws which could be discovered, analyzed, and catalogued to guide human behavior. Aristotle gave mankind the gift of logic. Because of him, human beings have tried with much success to analyze and understand the operating principles behind every aspect of human life and to apply this knowledge in a beneficial way.

Aristotle was born in 384 BC in the town of Stagira, state of Macedonia, in northern Greece. His father was a physician. He was a gifted student and therefore was sent to Athens to study in the Academy of Plato. He remained there for some twenty years until Plato died.

In 342, he returned home and was employed by King Phillip of Macedonia as the private tutor for his 13-year-old son, later to be known as Alexander the Great. When Alexander ascended the throne, Aristotle returned to Athens where he opened his own school which he called the Lyceum. Alexander sent Aristotle funds to support the school and to aid in his research.

Both the quantity and the quality of Aristotle's work is astonishing. He authored at least 170 books, 47 of which have survived. He was the personification of all knowledge in the ancient world. He studied, wrote about, and became the worlds' acknowledged expert in every field of science from astronomy to zoology. Part of his knowledge represented a compilation of knowledge acquired by others, sometimes obtained through the help of research assistants and part of it was the result of original research and his own observations. He left his strongest influence on the fields of anatomy, physiology, physics, geology, geography, and astronomy.

Impressive as these accomplishments were, they only begin to describe his contributions. Aristotle wrote about psychology, theology, and economics and is generally recognized as the greatest name in philosophy. He made important and original contributions to each of the five branches of philosophy. His contributions to the study of ethics, politics, aesthetics, and metaphysics are particularly significant. However, it his work on the theory of logic that has most impressed historians. He invented this branch of philosophy and it was his logical mind which allowed him to organize and categorize so much knowledge in so many different fields.

Aristotle's influence on Western thought has been so great as to be almost incomprehensible. His works were translated into dozens of languages and admired by Byzantine, Islamic and medieval philosophers and scientists. Among those who were highly influenced by his work include Averroes, the Arab philosopher, Maimonides, the medieval Jewish philosopher, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Thomas Jefferson, author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Aristotle's influence in medieval times was so great that for a time, it prevented further inquiry and evaluation of knowledge.

Aristotle was a visionary who understood how things worked, whether in science or government. "Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime," he said. Some of his most important contributions were in the field of education. "Education is the best provision for old age," he said. "Educated men are as much superior to uneducated men as the living are to the dead." The fate of empires depends on the education of the youth, he added.

Aristotle contributed greatly to the concept of democratic government. "Man is by nature a political animal," he said. "The basis of a democratic state is liberty. If liberty and equality are chiefly found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost."

Aristotle was also a caring person. The Golden Rule formed the bedrock of much of his philosophy. "We should behave to our friends as we would have our friends behave to us," he said. "It is the characteristic of a magnanimous man to ask no favour, but to be ready to do kindness to others.

With the death of Alexander the Great, the anti-Macedonian faction gained control in Athens. They objected to Alexander's dictatorial style; he had subjugated the city through force of arms. The new leaders claimed to want to restore Athenian democracy and to do this they felt it necessary to purge Athens of anyone who had been friendly with Alexander. They indicted Aristotle for "impiety:" claiming that he had offended the Gods-- the term was roughly synonymous with treason. Given a choice between trial, certain death, and exile, he chose the latter. He left Athens, recalling the death of Socrates some 76 years before, saying he was not going to give Athens a second chance to sin against philosophy. He died shortly thereafter in 322 BC at the age of 62.