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Remarkably, Aristotle’s association with Alexander the Great also contributed to where he spent the last years of his life. When the pro-Macedonian government was overthrown in 323 BC, Aristotle was to be executed for impiety. His charges were for associating with Alexander, and to avoid them, Aristotle fled to Chalcis, Euboea to remain until he died a year later.
As one of the first writers on method, Aristotle’s ideas on method are found mostly in a body of texts known as Organon. The most important of these ideas to philosophy of science come from Analytica Priora and Analytica Posteriora. In the former, Aristotle discusses deduction, while in the latter, he discusses induction. Out of the two, Analytica Priora forms the basis of most systems of logic found up until the late 19th century, while Analytica Posteriora forms the basis of empirical science to around the same date.[[CiteRef::Shields Falcon (20162015)]] The philosophies in Analytica Priora worked particularly well in taxonomical frameworks within biology. Beyond mentioned works, the Organon comprises 4 other works, Categoriae, Topica, De Sophisticis Elenchis, and De Interpretatione).
Most of Aristotle’s works on logic can be seen as a direct response to Plato’s views. As his predecessor and friend, Plato formed the foundational questions Aristotle would work from to create his framework of formal logic. Particularly, Plato was interested in raising questions about the nature of definition, the nature of connection between valid arguments and conclusions, and what properties could be called true or false.
Aristotle also stands out as a famous writer on causation. His work on causation is also in response to Plato’s views. Plato had a teleological view of causation perpetuated by his idea of forms. Similarly, Aristotle writes on the teleological account of causation in Physics II 3 and Metaphysics V 2.[[CiteRef::Biography.com Editors Falcon (20172015)]] Aristotle’s account of causation is made pertinent by forming the basis of all of his sciences. Each Aristotelian science consists of an investigation of causes within reality – in which an appropriate science would have knowledge of relevant causes. Aristotle’s teleological account of causation was the preferred account until Rene Descartes’ corpuscular mechanicism.[[CiteRef::Shields (2016)]]
|Major Contributions==== Scientific Method ===
Aristotle’s writings on the scientific method encompass the entire Organon, however, the works forming the basis of most empirical science are Analytica Priora and Analytica Posteriora.
