De Anima: Oxford Classical Texts

"Shiffman's fidelity both to Aristotle's text and to opening the complex thought contained therein to the contemporary reader is evident throughout this translation. It neither attempts to resolve difficulty nor drown the reader in obscurity; instead, it invites the reader to puzzle through this magnificent and difficult text herself. The wonderful introduction supplies any number of tools to do so and is a model of the rigorous and restrained articulation of essential themes and contemporary resonances. The glossary contains an indispensable and illuminating discussion of terms. Readable and thought-provoking, this translation is particularly well-suited for the classroom. Students at all levels will benefit from its lucidity and provocation to thought" -- Sara Brill, Fairfield University

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath. Taught by Plato, was the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy. His writings cover many subjects including physics, biology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, politics, meteorology, and geology. Medieval academia was significantly influenced by Aristotle's ideas. His writings comprise the oldest formal study of logic that is known. Medieval academics like Peter Abelard and John Buridan studied them. The father of zoology, political science, biology, and logic have all been credited to Aristotle. Aristotle was born at Stagira, Chalcidice, 384 BC, about 55 kilometers (34 miles) east of the present-day city of Thessaloniki. His father was King Amyntas of Macedon's physician, Nicomachus. Aristotle went to Lesbos with his student Theophrastus when Hermias passed away. Aristotle received an invitation from Philip II of Macedon in 343 BC to teach his son Alexander. Aristotle had an overtly ethnocentric view of Persia. He left a will upon his death in 322 BC, requesting to be buried close to his wife.