Aristotle, AR ih stot uhl (384-322 B.C.), a Greek philosopher, educator, and scientist, was one of the greatest and most influential thinkers in Western culture. Aristotle was probably the most scholarly and learned of the classical or ancient Greek philosophers. He familiarized himself with the entire development of Greek thought preceding him. In his own writings, Aristotle considered, summarized, criticized, and further developed all the intellectual tradition that he had inherited. Aristotle and his teacher Plato are usually considered to be the most important ancient Greek philosophers.