Aristotle Impact on Law
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Aristotle (384 – 322 BC), was a Greek philosopher, logician, and scientist. Along with his teacher Plato, Aristotle is generally regarded as one of the most influential ancient thinkers in a various ways. Aristotle was born in Stagira in northern Greece, and as a young man he studied in Platos Academy in Athens. After Platos death he left Athens to proceed in philosophical and biological research in Asia Minor and Lesbos, and he was then invited by King Philip II of Macedonia to tutor his young son, Alexander the Great. Aristotle was extremely successful in tutoring Alexander, as he develoepd a great mind and was widely known for launching the invasion of the Persian Empire. Aristotle returned as a resident to Athens, and it was during this time (335-323 BC) when he wrote or at least completed some of his major theories, which included law.
Aristotle and his teacher Plato, had alike minds when it came to their political views. They both believed that law had a moral purpose. They thought that it made people live their lives based on their reason, rather then their passion. When Aristotle talks about people following their reason, he means that they live their lives to the fullest taking in consideration all the talent and skill they are blessed with and using it to their advantage. One accomplishes this by making the most out of what he/she has been given to benefit themselves in life. Basically, he was following the natural law tradition because he felt as though the most important purpose of law was to help people live their lives positively and be happy. Law helped lead people into a positive direction
Aristotle advanced a theory of individual rights, at the same time accepting aspects of positive law theory and natural law theory. He was supporting equity in judicial decision making and tells us how this can operate consistently with the rule of law. Also, Aristotles brilliant ideas on ethics forms a basis for punishment in criminal law. He teaches how to educate lawyers and the legal profession to incorporate ethics and virtue; he teaches lawyers how they can be more persuasive. Furthermore, Aristotle also had a huge insight on moral virtues and believed that if these virtues are to be nurtured, law is needed. He believed that law is essential to help discipline citizens and their actions, as well as to help maintain the beneficial habits they acquire.
One of the most important aspects of our modern court/trial is the examining of the evidence. In most cases, the amount of quality evidence, or the lack of evidence, plays a huge role in making the final decision. Aristotle was the first person to think out the problem on