Aristotle

Aristotle (384 BC ^JL – 322 BC ^JL) was an Ancient Greek philosopher who together with Socrates and Plato laid much of the groundwork for western philosophy and science. Born in Stagira, Chalkidice, he was raised by Proxenus of Atarneus after his father died.1pp. 253 Most notoriously in the philosophy of science, Aristotle is associated with ‘the scientific method’ or as it is now known, the Aristotelian-medieval method (changed to better allude to transitions between different scientific methods). Throughout his life, Aristotle covered a broad range of topics including: physics, ethics, biology, theatre, music, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, logic, zoology, metaphysics, and aesthetics. Amongst these, those most relevant to the philosophy of science are his theory of causation, theories on metaphysics, and his method of science. Due to his incredible range of topics, Aristotle is not so easily grasped. Across the last two millennia, the explorations of his works by many authors has resulted in [even the most basic of] his works subject to controversial interpretation.

Historical Context

After his father’s death, Aristotle lived with Proxenus until he turned 17 or 18. At this age, Proxenus sent off Aristotle to Athens to pursue a higher education. In Athens, Aristotle joined Plato’s Academy and remained there until the age of thirty-seven (347 BC). It was in this year, his teacher and great philosophical companion, Plato, had died. Unfortunately, because of the many disputes amongst the two, Aristotle did not receive directorship of Plato’s Academy as he imagined he would.2

Returning home to Macedonia, Aristotle was met with the request of Philip II of Macedon.2 Philip II, asked Aristotle to tutor his son Alexander, soon to be Alexander the great. A subject of great dispute is how long this tutorship lasted. Some speculate Aristotle continued to tutor Alexander for three years, however others posit it may have been as long as eight years.3 A little further down the line, at around 335 BC Alexander succeeded his father and conquered Athens. It was with Alexander’s permission and their previous relationship that Aristotle started Lyceum. The Lyceum would act as a school and a library, where most of his works would be stored. The students of Aristotle who studied at the Lyceum, eventually became known as the Peripatetics.3 The students were called Peripatetics because of their tendency to ‘travel about’ just as the word means.

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 . 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 2.2 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.

Publications

Here are the works of Aristotle included in the bibliographic records of this encyclopedia:

• Aristotle (2015): Aristotle. (2015) De Anima. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (2009): Aristotle. (2009) Topics Books I and VIII. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (2006): Aristotle. (2006) Metaphysics Theta. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (2006b): Aristotle. (2006) Nicomachean Ethics, Books II-IV. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (200): Aristotle. (2000) Aristotle: Metaphysics Books B and K 1–2. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1999c): Aristotle. (1999) Politics, Books V and VI Animals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1999d): Aristotle. (1999) Nicomachean Ethics, Books VIII and IX. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1999a): Aristotle. (1999) Physics, Book VIII. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1999b): Aristotle. (1999) De Anima II and III. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1998): Aristotle. (1998) Politics Books VII and VIII. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1997): Aristotle. (1997) Prior Analytics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1996b): Aristotle. (1996) Politics: Books I and II. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1996a): Aristotle. (1996) Politics: Books III and IV. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1994b): Aristotle. (1994) Metaphysics Books Z and H. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1994a): Aristotle. (1994) Posterior Analytics, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1993): Aristotle. (1993) Metaphysics: Books gamma, delta, and epsilon. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1992b): Aristotle. (1992) Eudemian Ethics Books I, II, and VIII, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1992): Aristotle. (1992) De Partibus Animalium I and De Generatione Animalium I. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (2002): Aristotle. (1992) On the Parts of Animals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1988): Aristotle. (1988) Metaphysics Books M and N. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1984): Aristotle. (1984) Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 1: The Revised Oxford Translation. Princeton University Press.
• Aristotle (1984b): Aristotle. (1984) Physics Books I and II. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1983a): Aristotle. (1983) Physics Books III and IV. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1983): Aristotle. (1983) De Generatione et Corruptione. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle (1963): Aristotle. (1964) Categories and De Interpretatione. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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