Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Greece by Professor Edith Hall and comedian Dan Schreiber to learn all about famous philosopher Aristotle and his world changing ideas.Born a doctor’s son in the coastal settlement of Stagira, Aristotle would go on to revolutionise intellectual life in the west, writing on everything from theatre and the arts to politics, moral philosophy and zoology. After studying under Plato at his academy, Aristotle became a teacher himself, tutoring none other than a young Alexander the Great in Macedon before returning to Athens to found his own school, the Lyceum. And yet this extraordinary life came to an end in exile, after he was banished from his beloved Athens. This episode charts Aristotle’s incredible rise and fall, exploring his intellectual career and philosophical ideas alongside his friendships and romances, and asking whether, despite his views on women and slavery, he deserves the title of the greatest Greek philosopher.This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed.Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Madeleine Bracey Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: James Cook
Chapter 1: Who is Aristotle and why is he significant?
Welcome back, Dan.
Hey, thanks for having me. I have to say, Aristotle, from what you were saying just before we started recording, absolutely the kind of person I'd want to sit down and ask weird questions to. He sounds really interesting.
So last time out, Dan, we had you back in 18th century France and Corsica, and we were following the travails of a young man called Napoleone. Yes. How do you feel about ancient Greece? Is this a comfort area for you?
No, I'm equally as ignorant in ancient Greece as I am at that time. So what do you know?
This is the So What Do You Know? This is where I have a go at guessing what you, our lovely listener, might know about today's subject. And Aristotle is one of the most famous Western philosophers of all time. He's one of the most famous names in all of history. Maybe you're picturing a beardy guy in a robe.
Maybe he's lecturing a bottle-blonde Alexander the Great because you've seen the movie Alexander where all the Macedonians were Irish for some strange reason. Perhaps you've encountered Aristotelian ethics through the wonderful sitcom The Good Place. But who was this philosopher who changed intellectual life in the West forever? How did he get to be so brainy and so important?
And what do you do when a king orders you to tutor his frat boy son? Let's find out. Right, Professor Edith, let's start at the beginning. Where and when was Aristotle born? What was his family situation like?
Aristotle actually had a really boringly normal personal life. So he's a GP's son. He's the son of the GP in a little town called Stagira, which means the dripping place, because it's high up on a cliff where the waters drip down into the sea. And dad's called... Nicomachus. Nicomachus. Yeah.
He's definitely real, right, Aristotle? Yeah. Because there's so many of these characters from this period where the stuff was written about them all these years after and you find out, oh, Pythagoras, was that a real guy? Aristotle's like, we know he's real.
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Chapter 2: What was Aristotle's early life like?
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