Aristotelis (384–322 m. pr. Kr.) – vienas žymiausių antikos filosofų, kurio idėjos darė didžiulę įtaką vėlesniųjų laikų Europos filosofijai. Retoje mokslo ar filosofijos knygoje neminimas jo vardas, neaptariamos vienos ar kitos jo idėjos. Jo kūrybinis palikimas labai gausus, tačiau vertimų į lietuvių kalbą iki šiol išleista nedaug.
Šioje „Rinktinėje" publikuojami keturi Aristotelio veikalai. „Kategorijos" – pagal susiklosčiusią tradiciją pirmasis iš šešių Aristotelio logikos traktatų, paprastai vadinamų „Organonu". Jame išdėstyta Aristotelio kategorijų sistema, kurią sudaro 10 kategorijų (esmė, kiekybė, santykis, kokybė, vieta, laikas, padėtis, būsena, veikimas, patyrimas), išsamiai aptariamos atskiros kategorijos. „Nikomacho etika" – vienas iš trijų Aristotelio etikos veikalų, kuriame analizuojama, kas yra aukščiausiasis gėris, dorybė, laimė, teisingumas, draugystė ir kt. „Poetika" skirta bendriesiems estetikos klausimams ir tragedijos bei epo analizei, čia aptariama ir katarsio, kurį turi sukelti tragedija, sąvoka. Psichologijos traktate „Apie sielą" aptariamos trys sielos dalys – maitinančioji, juntančioji ir mąstančioji, jų funkcijos, suvokimo ir pažinimo mechanizmai, suformuluotos bendrosios juslės, aktyviojo ir pasyviojo proto sąvokos.
Ši „Rinktinė" – antroji pataisyta 1990 m. išleistų Aristotelio „Rinktinių raštų" laida. Knygoje pateikti ir išsamūs paaiškinimai, ypač įdomūs ir vertingi – žymaus Lietuvos filosofo Vosyliaus Sezemano, kuris išvertė traktatą „Apie sielą" ir, be to, sudarė nemažą Aristotelio sąvokų žodynėlį.
Aristotle (Greek: Αριστοτέλης; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. As the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy in the Lyceum in Athens, he began the wider Aristotelian tradition that followed, which set the groundwork for the development of modern science. Little is known about Aristotle's life. He was born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece during the Classical period. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, and he was brought up by a guardian. At 17 or 18, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of 37 (c. 347 BC). Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored his son Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC. He established a library in the Lyceum, which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books on papyrus scrolls. Though Aristotle wrote many treatises and dialogues for publication, only around a third of his original output has survived, none of it intended for publication. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. His teachings and methods of inquiry have had a significant impact across the world, and remain a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion. Aristotle's views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. The influence of his physical science extended from late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, and was not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics were developed. He influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as "The First Teacher", and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply "The Philosopher", while the poet Dante Alighieri called him "the master of those who know". His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and were studied by medieval scholars such as Pierre Abélard and Jean Buridan. Aristotle's influence on logic continued well into the 19th century. In addition, his ethics, although always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics.