Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy; he was a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His Nicomachean Ethics is practical rather than theoretical, intended to help people become good rather than a contemplation about good living. Aristotle's other practical work, Politics, also aims at people becoming good from the perspective of a law-giver, looking at the good of a whole community.