Aristotle was first and foremost a great philosopher. Although he was a student of Plato, he gave up the idealistic view held by his teacher. Plato believes that idea is the prototype of physical object, which exists independently of physical object. Aristotle believes that the real world is made up of all kinds of things, and their forms and materials are harmonious. "thing" is the substance of things, and "shape" is the individual characteristic of all things. Just like a chicken flying around with wings, the "shape" of this chicken is that it can flap its wings, coo and lay eggs. When the chicken dies, the "form" no longer exists, leaving only the material of the chicken. Plato asserted that feeling cannot be the source of real knowledge. Aristotle believed that knowledge originated from feeling. These thoughts already contain some materialistic factors. Aristotle, like Plato, thinks that rational scheme and purpose are the guiding principles of all natural processes. But Aristotle's view of causality is richer than Plato's, because he accepted some views of ancient Greece on this issue. He pointed out that there are four main reasons. The first is the material reason, that is, the main substance that constitutes an object. The second is the form factor, that is, the design pattern and form given to the main substance. The third is the dynamic reason, that is, to realize the mechanism and function provided by this design. The fourth is the purpose, that is, the purpose of designing the object. For example, the Potter's clay provides the material reason for pottery, while the design style of pottery is the form reason, the Potter's wheels and hands are the motivation reason, and the expected use of pottery is the purpose reason. Aristotle himself took a fancy to the formal reason and purpose reason of objects, and he believed that formal reason was included in all natural objects and functions. At first, these formal reasons are potential, but once an object or creature develops, these formal reasons are revealed. Finally, when an object or organism reaches the completion stage, its finished product is used to achieve the original design purpose, that is, to serve the purpose. He also believes that in concrete things, there is no form without matter, and there is no matter without form. The process of combining matter with form is the movement of transforming potential into reality. This theory shows the idea of spontaneous dialectics.

Aristotle's greatest contribution to philosophy lies in the establishment of formal logic, an important branch of discipline. Logical thinking is the pillar of Aristotle's outstanding achievements in many fields, and this way of thinking runs through his research, statistics and thinking. Of course, he also made mistakes, but not many times.

Aristotle believes that rational development is the ultimate goal of education, and advocates that the state should carry out public education for the children of slave owners. Make their bodies, virtues and wisdom develop harmoniously. In teaching methods, Aristotle attaches importance to the role of practice and practice. For example, in music teaching, he often arranges children to perform on stage, experience the scene, master the technology and improve their level. In the relationship between teachers and students, Aristotle did not blindly listen to his mentor but only followed Nuo Nuo, but dared to think, stick to the truth and dare to challenge on the basis of inheritance. His character of "I love my teacher, especially the truth" inspired him to push the teaching theory established by Plato to a higher level.

Aristotle's teaching thought is based on his theory of human nature, epistemology and his investigation of children's physical and mental development. He divides human soul into two parts, one is irrational soul, whose function is instinct, feeling and desire, and the other is rational soul, whose function is thinking, understanding and cognition. He believes that in the process of human cognition, the main function of the soul is feeling and thinking. The soul perceives external things with the help of sensory organs, and the perceived things are not transferred by human will, thus acknowledging the position and role of feeling in the cognitive process. But he thinks that feeling only plays an inductive role here, and truth and knowledge can only be obtained through rational thinking. So Aristotle's teaching purpose is to develop the rationality of the higher part of the soul.

Aristotle offered an encyclopedic course for his philosophy school. He advocates the all-round development of students' morality, intelligence, physique and beauty, with different emphasis in different periods. Early childhood is dominated by physical development (exercise); Music education is the core of adolescence, and moral, intellectual and physical beauty is the main content; Senior students should study grammar, rhetoric, poetry, literature, philosophy, ethics, politics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music and other subjects. But in any case, the focus should be on developing students' intelligence. He particularly emphasized the role of music in cultivating children's comprehensive quality. It is believed that music has three functions: entertainment, temperament cultivation and rationality cultivation. It can relieve fatigue, cultivate the mind, mold the character, stir the soul, and then enter the rational and noble moral realm through meditation. In physical education class, he disapproved that teachers should only let students have harsh and even painful training, and should teach "simple gymnastics" and "light martial arts", focusing on the normal development of children's bodies.