This edition presents the seminal work of Aristotle (384–322 BC), an ancient Greek philosopher and one of the greatest thinkers of antiquity, a student of Plato, and the mentor of Alexander the Great. Metaphysics is a collection of 14 books, compiled under a single cover in the first century BC by Andronicus of Rhodes, who gave the collection its title (the word 'metaphysics' does not appear in Aristotle's works). Andronicus's version of the philosopher's work has survived to this day. Metaphysics is based on Aristotle's doctrine of four primary causes (or principles) of all things, which significantly influenced the subsequent development of philosophical thought.