Aristotle was born of Greek parentage in 384 B.C., at stagira, a small town in chalcidice, the peninsular section of Macedonia on the upper Agean, or Thracian, Sea. Because of the birthplace he frequently was called the Stagirite. Aristotle's scientific and philosophical inclinations were largely determined by three prominent foactors in his life. First, his father, Nicomachus, a member of the…
Plato was born in Athens about 428 or 427 B.C. and died there in 348 or 347 B.C. One of the most brilliant figures in the history of Western philosophy, he was the son of Ariston and Perictione, both of whom belonged to old and important Athenian families. His father died when he was young. Perictione remarried, and Plato's stepfather, Pyrilampes, played an active part in the political and cult…