Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (c.287 BC
Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (c.287 BC
Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (c.287 BC
Archimedes of Syracuse (c.287 BC - c. 212 BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician, physicist
and engineer. Although little is known about his life, he is regarded as one of the most important
scientists in classical antiquity. In addition to making important discoveries in the field of mathematics
and geometry, he is credited with producing machines that were well ahead of their time.
The Ancient Roman historians showed a strong interest in Archimedes and wrote several
biographies relating to his life and works, while the few copies of his treatises that survived through the
Middle Ages were a major influence on scientists during the Renaissance.
Archimedes produced the first known summation of an infinite series with a method that is still
used in the area of calculus today.
Archimedes was a famous mathematician whose theorems and philosophies became world
known. He gained a reputation in his own time which few other mathematicians of this period achieved.
He is considered by most historians of mathematics as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time.
Aristotle
Aristotle (384 BC - March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Plato and teacher of
Alexander the Great. He wrote many books about physics, poetry, zoology, logic, rhetoric, government,
and biology.
Aristotle, along with Plato and Socrates, are generally considered the three most influential ancient Greek
philosophers in Western thought. Among them they transformed Presocratic Greek philosophy into the
foundations of Western philosophy as we know it. The writings of Plato and Aristotle form the core of
Ancient philosophy.
Aristotle placed much more value on knowledge gained from the senses and would correspondingly be
better classed among modern empiricists (see materialism and empiricism). He also achieved a
"grounding" of dialectic in the Topics by allowing interlocutors to begin from commonly held beliefs
(Endoxa); his goal being non-contradiction rather than Truth. He set the stage for what would eventually
develop into the scientific method centuries later. Although he wrote dialogues early in his career, no
more than fragments of these have survived.
The works of Aristotle that still exist today are in treatise form and were, for the most part, unpublished
texts. These were probably lecture notes or texts used by his students, and were almost certainly revised
repeatedly over the course of years. As a result, these works tend to be eclectic, dense and difficult to
read.
Among the most important ones are Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, De Anima (On
the Soul) and Poetics.
Their works, although connected in many fundamental ways, are very different in both style and
substance.
Aristotle is known for being one of the few figures in history who studied almost every subject possible at
the time. In science, Aristotle studied anatomy, astronomy, embryology, geography, geology,
meteorology, physics, and zoology.
In philosophy, Aristotle wrote on aesthetics, economics, ethics, government, metaphysics, politics,
psychology, rhetoric and theology. He also dealt with education, foreign customs, literature and poetry.
His combined works practically comprise an encyclopedia of Greek knowledge.