The Peripatetic school is the philosophical tradition founded by Aristotle at the Lyceum in Athens in 335 BCE, named either for the covered walkway (peripatos) where its members reportedly discussed philosophy or for the practice of walking while teaching, and it continued Aristotle's comprehensive program of inquiry across logic, natural science, metaphysics, ethics and politics through a succession of scholarchs beginning with Theophrastus. Theophrastus and later Peripatetics such as Strato of Lampsacus extended Aristotle's empirical natural philosophy, producing influential independent work in botany, physics and psychology, while the school as a whole maintained Aristotle's characteristic method of grounding philosophical inquiry in careful observation, classification and the analysis of competing views before argument. The school's direct institutional prominence faded after the first century BCE, but its philosophical legacy was carried forward by a long tradition of commentators, most notably Alexander of Aphrodisias around 200 CE, whose systematic commentaries on Aristotle's texts became authoritative reference points in their own right. Peripatetic Aristotelianism went on to shape late antique, Byzantine, Islamic and medieval Latin philosophy through successive waves of translation and commentary, making it one of the most consequential philosophical lineages in the Western tradition.
Facts
Disputed
End Year200
the school's distinct institutional life waned centuries earlier; the later date marks the flourishing of its commentary tradition through figures like Alexander of Aphrodisias rather than an organized school's endpoint. Connections
Founded By
Aristotle founded the Peripatetic school at the Lyceum in Athens.
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
In Branch
The Peripatetic School continues Aristotle's own metaphysics (substance, causation, potentiality/actuality) as its central concern.
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Sources
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Informationentry: Aristotle, The Lyceum, Overview
After Plato's death, Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, whose members came to be known as the Peripatetics.
entry: Aristotle, The Lyceum
Aristotle founded the Lyceum in Athens in 335 BCE, and its members came to be known as the Peripatetics.
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Did Aristotle study under Plato before founding the Peripatetic school?
Yes. Aristotle spent roughly twenty years at Plato's Academy before leaving Athens and later founding his own school.
Aristotle arrived in Athens at about seventeen to study at Plato's Academy, then the leading center of philosophical learning in the Greek world, and he stayed there as a member of the school until Plato's death in 347 BCE, at which point he left for Assos in Asia Minor. Only after years away, including a period tutoring Alexander the Great in Macedon, did Aristotle return and set up his own school in 335 BCE at the Lyceum, the public exercise ground that gave the Peripatetic school its alternate name. The Peripatetic school's metaphysics and method diverge from Plato's on fundamental points, most famously Aristotle's rejection of separately existing Forms, but the school's own founder trained inside the Academy for two decades before striking out on his own; the Peripatetic tradition is a variant development out of Platonism, not an independent starting point.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.