ABSTRACT
Aristotle was born in either 385 or 384 b.c. in the town of Stagira, in Macedonia. This little place is situated on the peninsula to which the name Calchis still attaches. Aristotle’s father, Nicomachus, was a doctor of considerable ability, who finally rose to be chief physician at the court of Amyntas II, King of Macedonia. Preoccupation with the idea of growth and development was not something that Aristotle learnt directly from Plato, because Plato’s world was essentially a static world. The death of Plato plunged Aristotle into a mood similar to that which had overcome Plato himself at the death of Socrates: the difference being that while Socrates had been condemned as a dangerous criminal, Plato died full of years and honours. Nevertheless, the effect upon the most promising disciple was in each case the same. Aristotle’s relations with his patron were so friendly that the tyrant finally gave the philosopher his niece and adopted daughter Pythias in marriage.
