Aristotle

Aristotle
Species	Human
First appearance	Mario's Time Machine (1993)

“I am a student of Plato's. You may call me Aristotle. I always welcome a stranger with a question. It is how Plato teaches, and how I learn.”

—Aristotle, Mario's Time Machine

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath. He followed Plato's teachings of knowledge and truth while also diverging towards his own philosophy that focused on what can be obtained from the senses. He was one of the first people to observe and document the qualities of flora and fauna in a way that became the basis for modern biology (although it was later superseded as more accurate information became available). In Mario's Time Machine, a copy of Plato's writings, the Republic, is stolen by Bowser, and Aristotle meets Mario after Mario travels back in time to ancient Athens to return it.

History

Mario's Time Machine

Aristotle in the SNES release of Mario's Time Machine

In Mario's Time Machine, Aristotle was living in Athens, where he was spreading the teachings of Plato (which were themselves based on Socrates's teachings). As Mario is exploring Athens, he comes across an enslaved woman who says that she cannot read after Mario attempts to show her the Republic; when Mario comments on the injustice of her condition, she calls him a wise man and tells him to seek out others who can guide him, which includes Aristotle. A nearby writer also points to Aristotle as a wise man. Mario meets Aristotle in a nearby temple, where he asks if he knows Plato. Aristotle then introduces himself as one of Plato's students, and he goes on to explain that he is always willing to listen to people's questions, as that is the Socratic method that he learned from Plato. Aristotle is specifically looking into questions about knowledge, truth, and many other aspects of life, which makes up philosophy. He describes it as "food for thought", and he then gives Mario some grapes as food for the body. Mario then calls him a scientist, although Aristotle denies it, saying that he is simply examining the world around him and writing it down. He is also interested in math and geometry, also he finds it to be more difficult without a Measuring Stick (which Mario can obtain from the writer). Once Mario gives a measuring stick to Aristotle, he gratefully accepts it and talks about the Republic book in Mario's possession, which describes, among other elements, the ideal government of a meritocracy. Aristotle says that Plato's writings are strong enough to impact the world for the next 2400 years.

Aristotle is brought up at several points when Mario time travels to 1610 Padua, when a lot of Aristotle's long-standing theories are challenged by scientist Galileo Galilei, including his geocentric model in which the Sun orbits around the Earth.

Trivia

• Aristotle's in-game appearance in the PC release of Mario's Time Machine is based on The School of Athens, a painting by famed artist Raphael Sanzio that depicts notable figures of Ancient Greece and notably features Aristotle and Plato at its center.
• Aristotle is depicted as being an older man in-game, even though in real life he was only 15 in 369 BC.