Agent skill

Aristotle

by K-Dense-AI in K-Dense-AI/mimeographs

Applies the frameworks of Aristotle (ancient Greek philosopher, logic, ethics, metaphysics, 384-322 BCE) to decision-making, ethics, and analysis.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Aristotle

skills CLI
$ npx skills add K-Dense-AI/mimeographs --skill aristotle -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install K-Dense-AI/mimeographs aristotle --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/mimeographs.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/mimeographs/aristotle .claude/skills/aristotle && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
aristotle
GitHub stars
129
Token cost
~1.6k tokens
SKILL.md length
829 words
Files
72 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
60
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Applies the frameworks of Aristotle (ancient Greek philosopher, logic, ethics, metaphysics, 384-322 BCE) to decision-making, ethics, and analysis.

  • Works in 4 steps: Identify the two extremes (excess and… → Depart from the extreme that is most… → Identify the user's natural biases and… → …
  • The user is grappling with moral dilemmas
  • SKILL.md covers Core principles, How Aristotle reasons, Applying the frameworks and Anti-patterns they push against, plus 1 more section
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Aristotle is an agent skill from K-Dense-AI/mimeographs. Applies the frameworks of Aristotle (ancient Greek philosopher, logic, ethics, metaphysics, 384-322 BCE) to decision-making, ethics, and analysis. Use this skill whenever the user is grappling with moral dilemmas, character development, habit formation, finding balance (the Golden Mean), persuasive communication (rhetoric), or understanding the root causes and ultimate purpose (teleology) of a project or system. Reach for this skill even if the user doesn't name Aristotle, especially when discussing career…

Its SKILL.md is about 1.6k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 74 other files, including reference files (for example `AGENTS.md`, `_workspace/agents_output.e584bd6c.json` and `_workspace/clustered_corpus.e584bd6c.json`).

It sits in Development, covering Root cause analysis and Creative writing and fiction. The repository describes itself as: Ready-to-use agent skills that clone the thinking of founders, philosophers, and scientists into your agent. Generated with K-Dense-AI/mimeo. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • The user is grappling with moral dilemmas
  • Character development
  • Habit formation
  • Finding balance (the Golden Mean)

Example prompts

  • “Use the aristotle skill to apply the frameworks of Aristotle (ancient Greek philosopher, logic, ethics, metaphysics, 384-322 BCE) to…”
  • “/aristotle”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Identify the two extremes (excess and deficiency) surrounding the behavior.
  2. Depart from the extreme that is most contrary to the mean (take the lesser of two evils).
  3. Identify the user's natural biases and weaknesses regarding this specific issue.
  4. Overcompensate by dragging the behavior toward the contrary extreme (like straightening a bent stick) to eventually settle in the middle.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit a38f5fc. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Aristotle loads about 1.6k tokens when it runs, and up to ~6.3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 156 tokens; SKILL.md has 829 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~156
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.6k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~6.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from K-Dense-AI/mimeographs at commit a38f5fc, republished under its MIT licence (© K-Dense-AI). 829 words, ~1,564 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/aristotle/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 71 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
aristotle
description
Applies the frameworks of Aristotle (ancient Greek philosopher, logic, ethics, metaphysics, 384-322 BCE) to decision-making, ethics, and analysis. Use this skill whenever the user is grappling with moral dilemmas, character development, habit formation, finding balance (the Golden Mean), persuasive communication (rhetoric), or understanding the root causes and ultimate purpose (teleology) of a project or system. Reach for this skill even if the user doesn't name Aristotle, especially when discussing career fulfillment, long-term happiness (eudaimonia), balancing extremes, or structuring persuasive arguments.

Thinking like Aristotle

Aristotle's thinking is defined by teleology (the study of purpose) and empiricism (the reliance on observation). He views the world as a place where everything—from biological organisms to human actions—aims at a specific, natural end or "good." Unlike thinkers who rely on abstract, detached ideals, Aristotle builds his understanding of the world from the ground up, observing reality and categorizing it. In human affairs, he emphasizes that excellence is not an innate gift or a theoretical knowledge, but a practical habit forged through repeated action.

Reach for this skill whenever you are helping a user navigate complex moral choices, build new habits, structure a persuasive argument, or uncover the root causes and ultimate purpose of a project or system.

Core principles

  • Eudaimonia as the Ultimate Human Good: Evaluate choices based on whether they contribute to long-term flourishing and the exercise of reason, rather than fleeting pleasure or external validation.
  • Virtue is Formed Through Habituation: Treat character and skill as the result of repeated practice; you become what you do.
  • The Doctrine of the Mean: Seek the proportionate intermediate state between the extremes of excess and deficiency, adjusting for the specific context of the individual.
  • Empiricism and Observation Over Theory: Ground decisions in observable reality; discard or adjust theories when they conflict with actual evidence.
  • Match Precision to the Subject Matter: Accept that human affairs (ethics, politics, business) involve variability; do not demand mathematical certainty where only general heuristics apply.

For detailed rationale and quotes, see references/principles.md.

How Aristotle reasons

Aristotle begins any inquiry by asking about the end goal (teleology). He wants to know what an action or object is for. He views goals through a Hierarchy of Ends, where subordinate tasks only derive meaning from the master art they serve. When evaluating human desires, he distinguishes between Real vs. Apparent Goods—separating what humans actually need to flourish from what they merely think will enrich them based on subjective appetite.

He relies heavily on observation. Instead of starting with a perfect, abstract theory, he looks at how things actually behave in nature and society. When faced with a problem of behavior or emotion, he maps out the extremes and looks for the proportionate middle ground.

For a complete list of his mental models, see references/mental-models.md.

Applying the frameworks

Hitting the Mean

Use this when a user is struggling to find balance in a behavior or emotional response.

  1. Identify the two extremes (excess and deficiency) surrounding the behavior.
  2. Depart from the extreme that is most contrary to the mean (take the lesser of two evils).
  3. Identify the user's natural biases and weaknesses regarding this specific issue.
  4. Overcompensate by dragging the behavior toward the contrary extreme (like straightening a bent stick) to eventually settle in the middle.
The Four Causes (Aitia)

Use this to provide a complete, multi-dimensional explanation of a problem, system, or process of change.

  1. Material Cause: What are the underlying components or raw materials?
  2. Formal Cause: What is the structure, design, or essence organizing it?
  3. Efficient Cause: What is the agent, trigger, or force driving the change?
  4. Final Cause: What is the ultimate purpose or end goal?
Show full SKILL.md (300 more words)Show less
Rhetorical Proofs (Ethos, Pathos, Logos)

Use this when helping a user craft a persuasive message, pitch, or speech.

  1. Ethos: Establish the speaker's credibility, practical wisdom, and trustworthy character.
  2. Pathos: Understand the audience's state of mind and evoke the appropriate emotional disposition.
  3. Logos: Construct a logical demonstration (like an enthymeme) that connects with the audience's existing beliefs.

For the full catalog of frameworks, see references/frameworks.md.

Anti-patterns they push against

  • Equating happiness with wealth, pleasure, or honor: Wealth is just a tool; honor depends on others; mere pleasure ignores human rational capacity.
  • Taking refuge in theory over practice: Believing you can become good or skilled merely by reading or philosophizing without actually doing the work.
  • Demanding mathematical precision in human affairs: Treating ethics, relationships, or strategy as exact sciences with rigid rule-books.
  • Looking for a mean in inherently bad actions: Trying to find a "moderate" amount of malice, theft, or betrayal. Some things are simply wrong.
  • Relying solely on logic to persuade: Assuming an audience will be convinced by raw facts without establishing trust or emotional resonance.

How to use this skill in conversation

When the user is facing a situation that calls for Aristotle's approach, surface the relevant principle or framework by name. For example, if a user is trying to break a bad habit, introduce the "Straightening a Bent Stick" model. If they are struggling to explain a complex project, walk them through the "Four Causes."

Apply the framework directly to their context. Cite where the idea comes from (e.g., "Aristotle calls this the Doctrine of the Mean" or "In Aristotle's framework of Rhetoric...").

Do not pretend to be Aristotle. Do not use archaic language or speak in the first person as the philosopher. Instead, channel his analytical, teleological, and practical thinking to provide structured, grounded advice.

© K-Dense-AI, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 71 other files (references) in mimeographs/aristotle of K-Dense-AI/mimeographs.

  • SKILL.md
  • AGENTS.md
  • _workspace/agents_output.e584bd6c.json
  • _workspace/clustered_corpus.e584bd6c.json
  • _workspace/discovery/books.json
  • _workspace/discovery/essays.json
  • _workspace/discovery/frameworks.json
  • _workspace/discovery/interviews.json
  • _workspace/discovery/letters.json
  • _workspace/discovery/papers.json
  • _workspace/discovery/podcasts.json
  • _workspace/discovery/ranked_sources.e584bd6c.json
  • _workspace/discovery/talks.json
  • _workspace/distilled/src_003.e584bd6c.json
  • _workspace/distilled/src_007.e584bd6c.json
  • _workspace/distilled/src_014.e584bd6c.json
  • _workspace/distilled/src_015.e584bd6c.json
  • _workspace/distilled/src_017.e584bd6c.json
  • … and 54 more

Open the folder on GitHubat commit a38f5fc

Compare with similar skills

Aristotle next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Aristotle compared with similar skills
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3dgs Training Debuggerjaccen/Awesome-Gaussian-Skills161—~7kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Codd Fable Consultyohey-w/codd-dev115—~3.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Swarm Migrateyonatangross/orchestkit292—~3.7kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Revision WorkflowBingHanOfUESTC/open_agent_team106—~264Automated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Aristotle

What does Aristotle do?

Applies the frameworks of Aristotle (ancient Greek philosopher, logic, ethics, metaphysics, 384-322 BCE) to decision-making, ethics, and analysis. Aristotle is an agent skill from K-Dense-AI/mimeographs. Applies the frameworks of Aristotle (ancient Greek philosopher, logic, ethics, metaphysics, 384-322 BCE) to decision-making, ethics, and analysis.

When should I use Aristotle?

Aristotle fits situations like: the user is grappling with moral dilemmas; character development; habit formation; finding balance (the Golden Mean).

How do I install Aristotle in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add K-Dense-AI/mimeographs --skill aristotle -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (mimeographs/aristotle in K-Dense-AI/mimeographs) into .claude/skills/aristotle in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Aristotle in Codex?

Run `npx skills add K-Dense-AI/mimeographs --skill aristotle -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (mimeographs/aristotle in K-Dense-AI/mimeographs) into .agents/skills/aristotle in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Aristotle in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add K-Dense-AI/mimeographs --skill aristotle -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/aristotle, .gemini/skills/aristotle, .github/skills/aristotle and .opencode/skills/aristotle in your project.

What does Aristotle need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Aristotle is instructions for the agent only.

Does Aristotle access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Aristotle safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Aristotle use?

Aristotle is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Aristotle use?

About 1.6k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.3k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 4.8k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Aristotle?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Aristotle: Issue Brief (VasiHemanth/tokentelemetry, 377 stars), 3dgs Training Debugger (jaccen/Awesome-Gaussian-Skills, 161 stars), Codd Fable Consult (yohey-w/codd-dev, 115 stars) and Swarm Migrate (yonatangross/orchestkit, 292 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Aristotle?

K-Dense-AI (a GitHub organization) maintains it in K-Dense-AI/mimeographs, which has 129 GitHub stars. The repository holds 60 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 18, 2026.

Source: K-Dense-AI/mimeographs on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.