You can learn a lot from reading #philosophy books, but you will acquire practical wisdom much faster by studying the life of philosophers. By looking at what they actually did, you will draw more accurate conclusions than by looking at what they said. #aristotle (384-322 BC) is no exception in this respect. His books about metaphysics and logic are impressive, but we can draw practical lessons more directly by looking at his life. It’s a simple, straightforward manner to see philosophy in action. In 384 BC, Aristotle was born in Stagira, a small city on the northern coast of the #aegeansea . Aristotle’s father (his name was Nicomachus) was the personal physician to King Amyntas of #macedonia . Thanks to his elevated position, Nicomachus gave Aristotle the best upbringing available. The efforts bore fruit fairly soon because Aristotle possessed an insatiable #curiosity . He wanted to learn all kinds of things even before he could comprehend the benefits of pursuing #knowledge and truth . His interests covered abstract subjects and concrete applications. In particular, he spent hours on end studying the local flora and fauna. Upon turning seventeen, Aristotle travelled to Athens with the goal of enrolling in Plato’s Academy, which possessed the best reputation amongst all schools. At that time, Athens’ philosophical discourse was dominated by Plato (428-349 BC) and #socrates (469-388 BC), but despite his admiration for them, the young Aristotle began to develop his own philosophy. In the Academy, Aristotle listened to #plato speak about ideal forms (abstractions), but little by little, he complemented them with #empirical observation. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/aristotles-pursuit-of-knowledge-and-truth/