Aristotelismo

Aristotelianism ( ARR-i-stə-TEE-lee-ə-niz-əm) is a tradition of philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. This school of thought, in the modern sense of philosophy, covers existence, ethics, mind and related subjects. In Aristotle's time, philosophy included natural philosophy, which preceded the advent of modern science during the Scientific Revolution. The works of Aristotle were initially defended by the members of the Peripatetic school and later on by the Neoplatonists, who produced many commentaries on Aristotle's writings. In the Islamic Golden Age, Avicenna and Averroes translated the works of Aristotle into Arabic and under them, along with philosophers such as Al-Kindi and Al-Farabi, Aristotelianism became a major part of early Islamic philosophy. Moses Maimonides adopted Aristotelianism from the Islamic scholars and based his Guide for the Perplexed on it and that became the basis of Jewish scholastic philosophy. Although some of Aristotle's logical works were known to western Europe, it was not until the Latin translations of the 12th century that the works of Aristotle and his Arabic commentators became widely available. Scholars such as Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas interpreted and systematized Aristotle's works in accordance with Catholic theology. After retreating under criticism from modern natural philosophers, the distinctively Aristotelian idea of teleology was transmitted through Wolff and Kant to Hegel, who applied it to history as a totality. Although this project was criticized by Trendelenburg and Brentano as non-Aristotelian, Hegel's influence is now often said to be responsible for an important Aristotelian influence upon Marx. Recent Aristotelian ethical and practical philosophy, such as that of Gadamer and McDowell, is often premissed upon a rejection of Aristotelianism's traditional metaphysical or theoretical philosophy. From this viewpoint, the early modern tradition of political republicanism, which views the res publica, public sphere or state as constituted by its citizens' virtuous activity, can appear thoroughly Aristotelian. The most famous contemporary Aristotelian philosopher is Alasdair MacIntyre. Especially famous for helping to revive virtue ethics in his book After Virtue, MacIntyre revises Aristotelianism with the argument that the highest temporal goods, which are internal to human beings, are actualized through participation in social practices. He juxtaposes Aristotelianism with the managerial institutions of capitalism and its state, and with rival traditions \" including the philosophies of Hume and Nietzsche \" that reject Aristotle's idea of essentially human goods and virtues and instead legitimate capitalism. Therefore, on MacIntyre's account, Aristotelianism is not identical with Western philosophy as a whole; rather, it is the best theory so far, [including] the best theory so far about what makes a particular theory the best one. Politically and socially, it has been characterized as a newly revolutionary Aristotelianism. This may be contrasted with the more conventional, apolitical and effectively conservative uses of Aristotle by, for example, Gadamer and McDowell. Other important contemporary Aristotelian theorists include Fred D. Miller, Jr. in politics and Rosalind Hursthouse in ethics.

Aristotelismo, peripatetismo y neoaristotelismo son denominaciones utilizadas en la historia de la filosofía para designar a distintos movimientos filosóficos donde los autores tienen como fundamento el pensamiento de Aristóteles, tanto en la Antigüedad (mientras continuó la escuela peripatética fundada por Aristóteles: el Liceo -opuesta a la Academia de Platón-) como durante la época medieval (averroísmo, tomismo, escolástica) y en las edades moderna y contemporánea (escuela de Salamanca, neotomismo o neoescolástica). Durante la Alta Edad Media la civilización islámica conservó las obras de Aristóteles, mientras que la cristiandad latina desconocía buena parte de ellas. En los siglos XI y XII, la coexistencia entre las tres religiones del libro (el papel de los judíos fue también significativo) que caracterizó a la España medieval, permitió el desarrollo de la Escuela de Traductores de Toledo, desde donde, entre otras, se tradujeron las obras de Aristóteles desde el árabe al latín. La recepción del pensamiento de Aristóteles fue convirtiéndolo en el centro del mundo filosófico de la Baja Edad Media. Gracias a la adaptación al pensamiento cristiano que realizaron San Alberto Magno y Santo Tomás de Aquino, la nueva visión de Aristóteles se convirtió en parte integrante de la doctrina oficial de la iglesia católica, como en buena medida lo sigue siendo en la actualidad.