Aristotle's Philosophy of Biology: Studies in the Origins of Life Science

ISBN-13: 9780521659765 / Angielski / Miękka / 2000 / 346 str.

James G. Lennox; Michael Ruse

Opis

In addition to being one of the world's most influential philosophers, Aristotle can also be credited with the creation of both the science of biology and the philosophy of biology. The papers collected in this volume, written by a preeminent figure in the field of Aristotle's philosophy and biology, examine Aristotle's approach to biological inquiry and explanation, his concepts of matter, form and kind, and his teleology. Gathering important essays written over a span of twenty years, this volume will be of special value to historians of science and philosophers of science.

Recenzje

'Lennox does an excellent job of explaining what Aristotle's biology and philosophy of biology actually were'. History and Philosophy of Life Science

Spis treści

Part I. Inquiry and Explanation: Introduction; 1. Divide and explain: the Posterior Analytics in practice; 2. Between data and demonstration: the Analytics and the Historia Animalium; 3. Aristotelian problems; 4. Putting philosophy of science to the test: the case of Aristotle's biology; 5. The disappearance of Aristotle's biology: a Hellenistic mystery; Part II. Matter, Form and Kind: Introduction; 6. Are Aristotelian species eternal?; 7. Kinds, forms of kinds, and the more and less in Aristotle's biology; 8. Material and formal natures in Aristotle's De Partibus Animalium; 9. Nature does nothing in vain…; Part III. Teleological Explanation: Introduction; 10. Teleology, chance, and Aristotle's theory of spontaneous generation; 11. Aristotle on chance; 12. Theophrastus on the limits of teleology; 13. Plato's unnatural teleology.