Aristotle was born around 384 BC in the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia, where his father was the royal doctor. He grew up to be arguably the most influential philosopher ever, with modest nicknames like The Master and simply The Philosopher. His first big job was tutoring Alexander the Great, who soon after went out and conquered the known world. Aristotle then headed off to Athens, worked with Plato for a bit, and then branched out on his own. He founded a little school called the Lyceum, and French secondary schools, the Lycées, are named in honor of this venture. Aristotle enjoyed walking while teaching and discussing ideas, and his followers were nicknamed Peripatetics, meaning “the Wanderers.” His many books are actually lecture notes.

Aristotle was fascinated by how many things actually work. For instance, why does a chick grow well in one place and hardly at all in another? Most importantly, he was interested in what makes a human life and a whole society go well. For Aristotle, philosophy was about practical wisdom. Here are four big philosophical questions he addressed:

1. What Makes People Happy?

In Nicomachean Ethics (named after his son Nicomachus, who edited the book), Aristotle set himself the task of identifying the factors that lead people to have a good........

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