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2006-10-08 14:40:52 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities Philosophy

ok.... sorry about that.... i ment the greek philosopher that was supossedly born 384 BCE, taught by Plato.....

I'm reading and reading but me no understanding....... can you summerize in a paragraph or so?

2006-10-08 14:48:41 · update #1

grr.... i forgot the fact the Aristotle literally learned everything, so i was actually wondering what his philsophy of law/politics was

2006-10-08 15:03:49 · update #2

7 answers

Philosophy of Nature

Aristotle sees the universe as a scale lying between the two extremes: form without matter is on one end, and matter without form is on the other end. The passage of matter into form must be shown in its various stages in the world of nature. To do this is the object of Aristotle's physics, or philosophy of nature. It is important to keep in mind that the passage from form to matter within nature is a movement towards ends or purposes. Everything in nature has its end and function, and nothing is without its purpose. Everywhere we find evidences of design and rational plan. No doctrine of physics can ignore the fundamental notions of motion, space, and time. Motion is the passage of matter into form, and it is of four kinds: (1) motion which affects the substance of a thing, particularly its beginning and its ending; (2) motion which brings about changes in quality; (3) motion which brings about changes in quantity, by increasing it and decreasing it; and (4) motion which brings about locomotion, or change of place. Of these the last is the most fundamental and important.

Aristotle rejects the definition of space as the void. Empty space is an impossibility. Hence, too, he disagrees with the view of Plato and the Pythagoreans that the elements are composed of geometrical figures. Space is defined as the limit of the surrounding body towards what is surrounded. Time is defined as the measure of motion in regard to what is earlier and later. it thus depends for its existence upon motion. If there where no change in the universe, there would be no time. Since it is the measuring or counting of motion, it also depends for its existence on a counting mind. If there were no mind to count, there could be no time. As to the infinite divisibility of space and time, and the paradoxes proposed by Zeno, Aristotle argues that space and time are potentially divisible ad infinitum, but are not actually so divided.

After these preliminaries, Aristotle passes to the main subject of physics, the scale of being. The first thing to notice about this scale is that it is a scale of values. What is higher on the scale of being is of more worth, because the principle of form is more advanced in it. Species on this scale are eternally fixed in their place, and cannot evolve over time. The higher items on the scale are also more organized. Further, the lower items are inorganic and the higher are organic. The principle which gives internal organization to the higher or organic items on the scale of being is life, or what he calls the soul of the organism. Even the human soul is nothing but the organization of the body. Plants are the lowest forms of life on the scale, and their souls contain a nutritive element by which it preserves itself. Animals are above plants on the scale, and their souls contain an appetitive feature which allows them to have sensations, desires, and thus gives them the ability to move. The scale of being proceeds from animals to humans. The human soul shares the nutritive element with plants, and the appetitive element with animals, but also has a rational element which is distinctively our own. The details of the appetitive and rational aspects of the soul are described in the following two sections.

2006-10-08 14:48:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Philosophy is a broad term, as one person has already indicated. Do you want to know about Aristotle's epistemology, ontology, ethics, politics, rhetoric or poetics? Going into detail on any of these fields is beyond the scope of this forum.

2006-10-08 14:56:13 · answer #2 · answered by sokrates 4 · 0 0

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/a/aristotl.htm

Logic
Categories (10 classifications of terms)
On Interpretation (propositions, truth, modality)
Prior Analytics (syllogistic logic)
Posterior Analytics (scientific method and syllogism)
Topics (rules for effective arguments and debate)
On Sophistical Refutations (informal fallacies)
Physical works
Physics (explains change, motion, void, time)
On the Heavens (structure of heaven, earth, elements)
On Generation (through combining material constituents)
Meteorologics (origin of comets, weather, disasters)
Psychological works
On the Soul (explains faculties, senses, mind, imagination)
On Memory, Reminiscence, Dreams, and Prophesying
Works on natural history
History of Animals (physical/mental qualities, habits)
On the parts of Animals
On the Movement of Animals
On the Progression of Animals
On the Generation of Animals
Minor treatises
Problems
Philosophical works
Metaphysics (substance, cause, form, potentiality)
Nicomachean Ethics (soul, happiness, virtue, friendship)
Eudemain Ethics
Magna Moralia
Politics (best states, utopias, constitutions, revolutions)
Rhetoric (elements of forensic and political debate)
Poetics (tragedy, epic poetry)

2006-10-08 14:52:10 · answer #3 · answered by Psyengine 7 · 1 0

which one?

2006-10-08 14:43:04 · answer #4 · answered by gYPSY B 3 · 0 0

dont know wish i could help

2006-10-08 14:45:10 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

shoot first, ask later

2006-10-08 14:48:03 · answer #6 · answered by xxplalmxx 3 · 0 0

READ

2006-10-08 14:42:17 · answer #7 · answered by Eldude 6 · 1 0

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