Notes

ABC CLEO

Aristotle is perhaps best known today as a logician. He created a system of thought based on fundamental assumptions that one cannot doubt—the famous a priori truths. Aristotle believed that the philosopher must observe particular phenomena to arrive at an understanding of reality, a scientific technique known as induction. Once truth is known through induction from the particular to the universal, the philosopher can engage in the process of deduction from the basis of the universal to arrive at other particular truths. Aristotle's system of logic is known as syllogism.

Aristotle also made contributions in metaphysics, the study of reality that transcends the physical world. Once again a priori truths are the basis for metaphysical studies. Aristotle assumed that there is a First Cause, an "unmoved mover," that he defined as actuality, in contrast to potency, or the potential, which represents movement. Aristotle argued that all reality can be explained according to cause and effect, act and potential. For example, time is an actual phenomenon—it has existence as a form or essence. Time acts upon human movement, providing a temporal context in which humans are born, live, and die, all the while measuring their lives according to the standard of time. Aristotle further argued in Metaphysics that one must distinguish between art and experience. Art as essence is based on abstract thought—what the Greeks termed the logos—whereas experience is based on a series of particular events occurring in time. In Poetics, Aristotle argued that poetry (art) explores universals and how things ought to be, while history (historia) explains the particulars of human existence and how things are. Wisdom represents the unification of art and experience.

Aristotle's treatise on natural science was Physics. Natural science, he wrote, is concerned with physical movement from the first principles of nature. Aristotle associated nature with the first cause. His unmoved mover was an amorphous divine force of creation which establishes the laws through which movement—plant, animal, and human—occurs. The four causal determinants expressed in nature are: 1) the material substance that forms a physical object; 2) the type or class of phenomenon (genos) to which an object belongs; 3) the cause of change in or movement of an object; and 4) the goal or purpose (telos) of movement.

Aristotle's categorizations had a profound impact on the formation of a vocabulary of science. His notion of type or class is the basis for the notion that a species in nature comprises a set genus. Aristotle's idea of goal or purpose forms the philosophical concept of teleology, the study of the end of natural phenomena.

In addition, Aristotle was one of the first students of the human psyche. He wrote treatises on dreams, memory, the senses, prophecy, sleep, and the soul. Aristotle believed that the soul is the actuality within the potency of the body and is the unmoved mover within each individual human, while the mind (nous) is an expression of the soul. Aristotle argued that each human soul is part of a universal whole which is a world soul, the ultimate actuality, and the first cause. Aristotle's study of dreams provided a rational explanation of what the ancients often considered a supernatural phenomenon. Aristotle argued that the only thing "divine" about a dream is that it is part of nature, which is itself the creation of God and hence divine. That events turn out according to one's dream is either coincidence or the result of the subtle impact of a dream on an individual's actions.

In zoological studies, Aristotle's contributions included the treatises Description of Animals, Parts of Animals, and Generation of Animals. In Parts of Animals, Aristotle noted that although animals are a less profound area of study than the metaphysical, nevertheless it is an inquiry accessible to anyone willing to explore natural history. Consistent with his Platonic background, Aristotle studied animals for the sake of understanding the whole of natural history. He assumed that the source of all good and beauty is the same source of animal and biological phenomena and that hence even animals mirror the divine.

In the study of ethics, Aristotle dealt with the question of how the ultimate basis of behavior, the set of rules that establishes the Good, can be understood according to science. Aristotle believed that the tools of science—observation, categorization, logic,and induction—could be brought to bear on the study of human behavior. The scientist studies human behavior in its incredible variety of contexts to arrive at general laws of how humans act and how they should act: how humans act is the realm of the scientist, while how humans should act is the realm of the philosopher. Once again, Aristotle combined science and philosophy into one organized study. Aristotle believed that the ultimate end of human existence is happiness, which occurs when humans conform to the Good. The Good is accomplished when humans exercise reason in accordance with virtue. Aristotle studied human behavior to arrive at a definition of virtue, finding that it is an action performed for its own sake, that is, an action performed for the sake of the Good or an action performed out of principle. Aristotle believed that vice, the opposite of virtue, derives from actions committed for selfish reasons or for personal motives.

The Greek philosophers before and during Aristotle's time were the first political scientists. Aristotle's contribution, Politics, applied his philosophical methods and assumptions to the understanding of statecraft. He argued that the state is, as it were, the actual, while the citizens are the potential. The latter are the parts (the particulars) that made up the whole, or the universal body politic. Aristotle conceived of a pluralistic society operating according to natural laws based in part on reason and necessity, a social compact among people to promote security and serve the needs of survival. Within this concept of the state (which represents virtue) people move, act, and struggle for power and wealth. Aristotle argued, based on his experience at Athens, that slavery was justified because of the inferior intellect of slaves. Likewise, he assumed that women lacked the cognitive abilities of males and therefore should not participate in democracy. In The Athenian Constitution, Aristotle provided a detailed analysis of Athenian democracy, providing details into the life and political science of the great Athenian lawgiver Solon.

In the study of astronomy, Aristotle explored his ideas in On the Heavens. Based on observation, Aristotle established the spherical nature of the earth. Viewing a lunar eclipse, Aristotle detected a slight curvature of the shadow of the earth on the moon's surface. He also observed that the altitude of stars changes according to changes in latitude. In On the Heavens, Aristotle concluded that the earth's circumference is 400,000 stadia (40,000–50,000 miles, which was an overestimate of 45%). He advocated the view that there is more water than land on the earth's surface. Much of Aristotle's thought on astronomy, however, was erroneous, as observation with the naked eye was insufficient for the study of the nature of the stars and planets.