Sunteți pe pagina 1din 4

THE NATURALIST Aristotle

Works: - What we have left of Aristotles works, are a collection of logoi discourses - This work is complex, stiffly written and often dry, however, these notes reflect a genius whose range of interests, wonder, insight and effort strands as a most remarkable testament to the human mind and spirit Life: -

Most of what we know about Aristotle comes primarily through Diogenes Laertius Aristotle was born in Stagira, Thrace, the son of a court physician Learned basic anatomy and dissection from his father He was sent to study at Platos Academy in Athens at the age of eighteen Aristotle was very fashionable, catching the eyes of many Athenians Plato thought he might be too fashionable to be a philosopher (he earned a lisp used only by the upper class) However, he quickly emerged as one of Platos finest students Aristotle studied with Plato for approximately twenty years until the death of his teacher After the death of Plato, many assumed that Aristotle would take the place as the next mastery of the Academy; however, this did not happen, so instead Aristotle took the position of adviser of his friend Hermeias Aristotle did not manage to influence Hermeias all that much, but he did marry his adopted daughter Pythias in 344 B.C.E. When King Hermeias offended the Persian king, and was crucified, Aristotle and Pythias fled to the Island of Lesbos While on Lesbos, Aristotle studied natural history and Pythias died while giving birth to their daughter Afterwards, Aristotle lived with a woman named Herpyllis who produced Aristotles son Nicomachus In 343 B.C.E. King Philip of Macedon invited Aristotle to train his thirteen-year-old son Alexander, later known as Alexander the Great Aristotle managed to have a great influence on Alexander, teaching him to have respect for knowledge and science In 340 B.C.E. Aristotle was sent back to his hometown of Stagira, so that he could write a code of laws to help restore the community he was very successful In 334 B.C.E. Aristotle returned to Athens, where he founded his own school (probably funded by Alexander the Great)

The Lyceum - Aristotle named his school Lyceum after the god Apollo Lyceus - The Lyceum was built near some of the most elegant buildings in Athens, surrounded by trees and scenery - His students were known as the peripatetic philosophers he discussed philosophy while strolling with them along tree-covered walkways called the Peripatos - Aristotles curriculum included philosophy and lectures - He collected hundreds of maps, charts, and documents, forming the first important library in the West - Once a month, Aristotle held a common meal in which one of the members was picked to defend a philosophical idea against everyone else - The Lyceums students were from the middle class, in comparison to the aristocratic students at Platos Academy

The Academy stressed mathematics and pure understanding, while Aristotles students collected anthropological studies of barbarian cultures, chronologies of various wars and games, living organisms, nature, etc. Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C.E. and the Athens under him, expressed hostility towards Macedonia Aristotle found himself in an uncomfortable position so he left Athens and the Lyceum after being legally charged with not respecting the gods of the state the same charge as Socrates Unlike Socrates however, Aristotle fled to the island of Euboea, in his words, lest Athens sin twice against philosophy In 322 B.C.E. Aristotle the man who had created the first important library, tutored the greatest ruler of the ancient world, invented logic, and shaped the thinking of an entire culture died, passed away He was known as the Philosopher

The Naturalist - In Plato, we saw one significant expression of the search for the good life: evaluating this life by comparing it to some ideal standard and then trying to perfect this world - Aristotle added another major expression of the search for the good life: attempting to acquire facts without bias and then using that information to make this a better world - Aristotle disagreed with Platos rationalistic idealism; and it is said that for this reason, he combined the study of humanity and nature to a degree that was not possible again - He is the archetypal philosophical naturalist - Naturalism is the belief that reality consists of the natural world; the naturalists universe is ordered in that everything in it follows consistent and discoverable laws of nature; everything can be understood in terms of those fundamental laws - Nothing exists outside of space and time; nature always acts with a purpose and the key to understanding anything lies in determining its essential purpose - Therefore, there cannot be a separate supernatural order of reality; human beings are special; however, they are part of the natural order and must behave according to fixed laws and principles. Natural Changes - Aristotle is sometimes called the Father of Science because he was the first Western thinker of record to provide an adequate analysis of a process of change based on the claim that form is inseparable from matter Form: - Aristotle was troubled by Platonic dualism; the fact that the universe was divided into the realm of becoming and being - According to Plato, only Forms are truly real; objects of sense perception are mere reflections or diluted copies of Forms - Aristotle claimed that there is only one world; and the form can only be an aspect of this world - According to Aristotle, form can be abstracted from matter but cannot exist independently of matter; this kind of form is sometimes referred to as essence - Matter is the common material stuff found in a variety of things; it has no distinct characteristics until some form is imparted to it or until the form inherent in a thing becomes actualized - Form makes a substance what it is; in other words when we characterize or define what a thing is; we are speaking of that things substance or essence; form is the essence of substance itself; that which makes a substance a substance Matter: - According to Aristotle, matter is the common material stuff found in a variety of things - Matter has no distinct characteristics until some form is imparted to it or until the form inherent in a thing becomes actualized.

Individual things are formed matter Aristotle established a hierarchy of forms; moving from the simplest kinds of things to the most complex, based on each things function or purpose - Unlike Plato, Aristotle argued that purpose is inherent in nature; matter provides opportunity; form provides direction - Form does not cannot exist without matter; and the same with matter - The Aristotelian universe is a continuum of formed matter Change: - Aristotle believed that his image of nature as formed matter explained how things change - Example: when water changes into ice, some part of the water itself remains water, and the other part changes the basic matter is still water, but the form is changed from liquid to crystal - Change is the substitution of forms in stages - Movement toward an inherent structure or form guides the series of changes - An acorn, contains a potential sprout, but the form is not yet materialized, when the conditions are right, the acorns actual form is replaced by its potential form and then the potential form is actualized; the sprout contains within itself the potential form of a sapling, with the right conditions, the sprout will actualize its potential form and become a saplingthe process continues until it becomes a tree - Therefore, change is really a series of smaller changes in which matter losses and gains form - However, change is not the same as growth/development that is when change follows a pattern that leads toward a goal or end (purpose or function) Aristotles Hierarchy of Explanations - The same thing can be characterized by distinctly different accounts or explanations, depending on the purpose of the account and the purposes that together constitute the thing, process, or activity - Story of the bricklayers: when asked What are you doing? The first worker says that he is laying a brick, the second worker says that he is building an arch and the third worker says that he is building a cathedral - The means and the end are different The Four Causes - Aristotle distinguished among four different kinds of explanations that, together, constitute a complete accounting or understanding of a thing he referred to them as causes - The Greek work for cause, aitia, meant the reason for something happening 1. Material Cause refers to the material (substance) from which this thing comes and in which change occurs (e.g. a tables material cause would be wood) 2. Formal Cause refers to the shape or form in which this matter is changed (e.g. to make a table, the wood needs to be formed) 3. Efficient Cause refers to why this item actually exists what accounts for the potentially formed matter becoming actualized therefore the efficient cause is that which initiates activity; the substance by which change is brought about 4. Final Cause refers to the purpose or the reason that an activity or process takes place (raison dtre) the reason for which the table is made; to hold things, etc. - the Final Cause can also be termed the end, the purpose or completed state; there exists an inner urge in each living thing to realize its end or purpose: a drive to develop, to become its unique self entelechy

Questions (pg. 152): 1. What is naturalism? Naturalism is the belief that reality consists of the natural world. The naturalists universe is ordered in that everything in it follows consistent and discoverable laws of nature; everything can be understood in terms of those fundamental laws. Nothing exists outside of space and time. Nature always acts with a purpose and the key to understanding anything lies in determining its essential purpose. Therefore, there cannot be a separate supernatural order of reality. Human beings are special; however, they are part of the natural order and must behave according to fixed laws and principles. 2. How did Plato distinguish between knowledge and opinion? Plato drew a sharp distinction between knowledge, which is certain, and mere opinion, which is not certain. Opinions derive from the shifting world of sensation; knowledge derives from the world of timeless forms, or essences. In the Republic, these concepts were illustrated using the metaphor of the sun, the divided line, and the allegory of the cave. 3. What is form according to Aristotle? According to Aristotle, form can be abstracted from matter but cannot exist independently of matter; this kind of form is sometimes referred to as essence. Matter is the common material stuff found in a variety of things; it has no distinct characteristics until some form is imparted to it or until the form inherent in a thing becomes actualized. 4. What is matter according to Aristotle? According to Aristotle, matter is the common material stuff found in a variety of things; matter has no distinct characteristics until some form is imparted to it or until the form inherent in a thing becomes actualized. Thus, for Aristotle, individual things are formed matter. 5. What are the Four Causes? Aristotle claimed that complete understanding of a thing required identifying its four causes. The Four Causes are the Material Cause (the material the thing is made of), the Formal Cause (the form the thing is made of), the Efficient Cause (the triggering motion that begins the thing), and the Final Cause (the telos, or ultimate purpose for which the thing exists).

S-ar putea să vă placă și