Part IV—Aristotle on Greek Nations Brought to Civil Stripe by Immigration The Greek philosopher Aristotle lived from circa 384 to 322 BCE. At one point in his book entitled Politics, he discussed various causes of revolution and civil war. Generally, he said, The universal and chief cause of this revolutionary feeling [is] the desire of equality, when men think that they are equal to others who have more than themselves; or … the desire of … superiority, when conceiving themselves…..