Aristotelian

American  

[ar-uh-stuh-teel-yuhn, -tee-lee-uhn, uh-ris-tuh-] / ˌær ə stəˈtil yən, -ˈti li ən, əˌrɪs tə- /

Or Aristotelean

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, based on, or derived from Aristotle or his theories.

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noun

1. a follower of Aristotle.

Aristotelian British  

/ ˌærɪstəˈtiːlɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Aristotle or his philosophy

2. (of a philosophical position) derived from that of Aristotle, or incorporating such of his major doctrines as the distinctions between matter and form, and substance and accident, or the primacy of individuals over universals

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noun

1. a follower of Aristotle

Other Word Forms

• anti-Aristotelian adjective
• half-Aristotelian adjective
• post-Aristotelian adjective
• pro-Aristotelian adjective
• pseudo-Aristotelian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Aristotelian

1600–10; < Latin Aristotelī ( us ) < Greek Aristotéleios of Aristotle + -an

Example Sentences

Venn gave us a simple, turn-the-crank means of clearly seeing why the 15 forms of the Aristotelian syllogism – and only those 15 forms – are valid.

From Salon • Jul. 29, 2024

“Whatever those Aristotelian time-place things are; it’s kind of a big gulp. For this one, the idea of a full two-act opera was interesting to me.”

From New York Times • Feb. 16, 2023

Occasionally, it all comes together: reading’s version of the Aristotelian unity of time, place and action.

From Washington Post • Jul. 31, 2022

From an intellectual historical perspective, the reintroduction of the Aristotelian perspective into Western thought owes much to the thought of Aquinas.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

For an Aristotelian, there is only one discipline that isolates efficient causes and structures and ignores all others, and that discipline is mechanics.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton