On the second day of Interregnum, the task I chose to do, made Aristotle mother of the year

I have to admit here that I'm not as well versed on Philosophy as I'd like (note to self... new addition to 2008 New Year's Resolutions... learn to philosophize!). I know pieces here and there, but I don't feel like I have a cohesive grasp of the whole. Still, I was drawn to this task (I had some leftover clay to kill) so I thought through which Philosopher I'd want as a mother. One name stood out: Aristotle.



First, Aristotle seems to have been the first real applied philosopher. Socrates talked good and had everyone listening. Plato listened good and expounded upon what he'd heard Socrates say. But Aristotle really seemed to go around and try to put the philosophy to good use, slapping the earlier philosophy against the wall of reality and noting where it stuck. To me, that's a mom thing. Application of the esoteric to make the practical is what mom's are all about.

Secondly, Aristotle had mothering experience up the wazoo (if you don't mind that as a philosophy term). You see, Aristotle had a reputation and was sought out by royals to teach their kids. Philip II of Macedon hired Aristotle to teach his son and a bunch of the other court kids. That son grew up to be Alexander the Great, and the kids his generals and companions on his campaigns. Can you imagine what it must have been like to try and keep those kids in line? Alexander was told by his real mother that Zeus was his real father and that he was the reincarnation of Achilles... can you imagine trying to keep that kid in line during a philosophy lesson? Clearly Aristotle was almost magically successful. At the end of the line, on his death bed, I imagine Alexander falling into a hallucination where he's receiving the Academy Award for Best Conqueror, and he's not thanking his companions or generals or dead Dad or mother (ok, maybe he thanks Bucephalus), but I do see him thanking Aristotle for his mothering tutelage.

So, I chose Aristotle and made a quick bust, which you'll see below. There aren't a lot of great images left over from Aristotle's time (they used too much sulfur in the developing fluid, so not many negatives survived), so I pretty much used what I imagine him to have looked like. The nose, in particular, had to be prominent, and the eyes freakishly deep, all softened with goat-fleece beard and hair. Stern, hard, but a slight hint of kindness and understanding. That's the Aristotle I imagine if he were my Mom.