Brentano’s Aristotelianism and Early Writings on Aristotle

Abstract

Brentano’s initial area of interest and primary subject of study in philosophy, as was shown above, was the difficult topic of metaphysics. For Brentano metaphysics, and more precisely what he frequently referred to as “scientific metaphysics”, generally meant Aristotelianism. The influence of Aristotle on Brentano cannot be underestimated. Later in his life Brentano would write of how his philosophical career only began after he apprenticed himself to Aristotle (AN, 291).¹ This claim can also corroborated by examining Brentano’s writings. In his lifetime Brentano published seven books and/or monographs on Aristotle including, Von der Mannigfachen Bedeutung des Seienden nach Aristoteles (1862), Die Psychologie des Aristoteles (1867), and the late work Aristoteles und seine Weltanschauung, a summary and overview of Aristotelian philosophy (1911). The above works were supplemented by lecture courses, essays and dictations — along with other works of “Aristotelika”, many of which remain unpublished but can be found in the manuscripts available in Brentano’s Nachlass.²