Aristotle: 4 Practical Ways To Make You Smarter Every Day

Not all of us are born geniuses, but learning can compensate for that.

Aristotle came from a privileged background - his father was a physician, and his mother came from a wealthy family.

Unlike the others, Aristotle attended Plato’s Academy at 17, thanks to his family’s financial support. Aristotle stayed at Plato’s Academy for 20 years, first as a student and then as a teacher.

Plato taught Aristotle, who later taught Alexander the Great.

This trio is the greatest teacher-student combo in history. Plato passed his life lessons and knowledge to 17-year-old Aristotle, which Aristotle passed down to Alexander the Great, enabling him to conquer lands at such a young age.

Sometimes, we don’t have smart genes. Learning can help compensate for the lack of innate intelligence and enhance cognitive abilities.

Though you may not have a tutor like Plato or Aristotle, reading this article will allow you to scrutinize Aristotle’s habits that made him smarter and wiser at such a young age.

1. Embracing intellectual openness

Aristotle’s interest was in metaphysics, physics, and ethics.

At some point in his life, Aristotle realized he could never know everything.

Aristotle always believed everyone’s opinion was necessary and important, as we come from different backgrounds. Aristotle would carefully examine and evaluate different perspectives before making a well-informed decision. Considering multiple perspectives allowed Aristotle to explore new viewpoints and perspectives. Aristotle believed:

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

In other words, Aristotle observed the world and collected data before jumping to conclusions. For Aristotle, listening to people and thinking twice was better than making hasty judgments and regretting them later. Aristotle engaged in certain practices to facilitate his intellectual openness, such as:

• Dialogue and Debate: Aristotle would debate with his philosopher friends to consider alternate viewpoints.
• Socratic method: A method by which people think deeper to understand any problem.
• Reading books: reading new ideas and refining his knowledge.

Aristotle practiced intellectual openness every single day.

2. Understanding systematic thinking

Aristotle would thoroughly analyze all layers of a decision, much like peeling an onion, until he had extracted all relevant information. Only then would he make a decision.

Aristotle always practiced a systematic thought process (judging the pros and cons side by side) to arrive at well-informed decisions.

Aristotle said:

“It is the mark of an educated mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits and not to seek exactness where only an approximation is possible.”

Modern philosophers highly admire Aristotle’s focused and deliberate work. Aristotle made thoughtful, nuanced conclusions by weighing pros and cons of any argument.

Aristotle always had a strong reason for doing what he did. History always repeats itself, and we must look for signs to indicate whether a decision is worth pursuing.

3. Critically observe the world

Aristotle carefully watched the world.

Aristotle always asked,” Why.” He had a notion of discovering the truth, looking for anything that could go wrong, and looking for signs speaking in favor and against the argument.

“All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness, they are loved for themselves; and above all others, the sense of sight.”

Later, when Aristotle founded the lyceum, he used the same logical reasoning and debated with his students to test his assumptions and challenge his thinking.

Soon Aristotle becomes a master in various subjects, allowing him to influence Western thoughts. Until his death, Aristotle wrote 150 philosophical treatises on metaphysics, ethics, politics, biology, etc.

4. Keep a journal

Our mind is too tiny to save thoughts.

Aristotle penned his thoughts and ideas. Writing his thoughts helped Aristotle clarify his thinking and communicate his ideas. Aristotle believed writing is an energy and, therefore, writing it down will help capture that energy.

As Aristotle said, “The energy of the mind is the essence of life.”

Soon after leaving Plato’s academy, Aristotle traveled to various parts of Greece and Asia to collect facts for his writings. He kept a diary at all intervals and noted things happening around him.

Aristotle's writing style was clear, concise, and toned with a philosophical dose. Aristotle knew that his beliefs didn’t have to be limited to the 348 BCE if he wanted people to read and appreciate his work even after his death.

Therefore, whatever Aristotle wrote was research-based, concluding things he learned from his life experience. For him, writing was a logbook of his beliefs.

Final thoughts

Aristotle always believed: “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.”

Nobody sets limits but us. We cannot think outside of it when we confine ourselves to a conditional mode.

Change yourself. Open your eyes. It may hurt, but keeping your legs folded isn’t an ideal situation, either.

There’s soo much to know. A lifetime is barely sufficient for those who seek new experiences, let alone those who prefer to remain in their comfort zones.

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