Aristotle (384–322 BC), often known as "Aristoteles" in several languages, was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist who is widely considered one of the greatest intellectual figures in Western history. He was born in Stagira, Chalkidiki, in northern Greece. His father, Nicomachus, was a physician at the court of King Amyntas of Macedon, father of Philip II and grandfather of Alexander the Great.

At the age of 17, Aristotle moved to Athens to heed the Platonic Academy, founded by Socrates' disciple Plato. There, he sharpened his understanding of philosophy until the death of Plato in 348/347 BC. After leaving Athens, he was requested by Philip II of Macedon to become a tutor to young Alexander the Great.

Aristotle is famous for many intellectual contributions, including his systemization and development of logic, pioneering work in the field of biology, and his work in ethics, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. His thought and writing covered a vast array of subjects, including politics, zoology, psychology, and poetics. He promoted a type of reasoning, syllogistic logic, which involved deducing conclusions from general principals.

Besides this, Aristotle is also famous for his doctrine, often called Aristotelianism. His philosophy had three main concepts: ethos, logos, and pathos. He strongly believed that a speaker's ability to persuade an audience is influenced by these three modes of persuasion.

Aristotle eventually returned to Athens to start his own philosophical institution, the Lyceum, where he focused on collecting knowledge, composing the majority of his well-known works. His death came in 322 BC, and despite the passage of millennia, his works still profoundly influence Western thought and philosophy.

Among his significant works are "Metaphysics," "Nicomachean Ethics," "Politics," "De Anima (On the Soul)" and "Poetics." These texts, in many ways, laid the groundwork for much of Western philosophy and science. Aristotle was one of the earliest philosophers to engage in empirical investigations of the natural world, and his biological and zoological observations are particularly renowned.
