~340 BCEScience & TechnologyEurope

Aristotle's Contributions to Science and Philosophy

Aristotle made groundbreaking arguments for a spherical Earth and laid the foundations of logic, science, and Western philosophy.

Aristotle (c. 384–322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher and polymath whose work spanned nearly every field of knowledge. He provided some of the earliest empirical arguments that the Earth is round — citing the circular shadow during lunar eclipses, the changing position of the pole star as one travels, and ships disappearing hull-first over the horizon. Together with his teacher Plato, he is considered the "Father of Western Philosophy." He was also the private tutor of Alexander the Great. Aristotle is the first known person to formally study logic, including its applications in science and mathematics, and his works on physics, metaphysics, ethics, and biology dominated intellectual discourse for nearly two millennia.

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