Explanation and Teleology in Aristotle's Science of Nature - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Explanation and Teleology in Aristotle's Science of Nature write by Mariska Leunissen. This book was released on 2010-08-26. Explanation and Teleology in Aristotle's Science of Nature available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. In Aristotle's teleological view of the world, natural things come to be and are present for the sake of some function or end (for example, wings are present in birds for the sake of flying). Whereas much of recent scholarship has focused on uncovering the (meta-)physical underpinnings of Aristotle's teleology and its contrasts with his notions of chance and necessity, this book examines Aristotle's use of the theory of natural teleology in producing explanations of natural phenomena. Close analyses of Aristotle's natural treatises and his Posterior Analytics show what methods are used for the discovery of functions or ends that figure in teleological explanations, how these explanations are structured, and how well they work in making sense of phenomena. The book will be valuable for all who are interested in Aristotle's natural science, his philosophy of science, and his biology.
Aristotle on Teleology
Aristotle on Teleology - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Aristotle on Teleology write by Monte Ransome Johnson. This book was released on 2005-11-03. Aristotle on Teleology available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Monte Johnson examines one of the most controversial aspects of Aristiotle's natural philosophy: his teleology. Is teleology about causation or explanation? Does it exclude or obviate mechanism, determinism, or materialism? Is it focused on the good of individual organisms, or is god or man the ultimate end of all processes and entities? Is teleology restricted to living things, or does it apply to the cosmos as a whole? Does it identify objectively existent causes in the world, or is it merely a heuristic for our understanding of other causal processes? Johnson argues that Aristotle's aporetic approach drives a middle course between these traditional oppositions, and avoids the dilemma, frequently urged against teleology, between backwards causation and anthropomorphism. Although these issues have been debated with extraordinary depth by Aristotle scholars, and touched upon by many in the wider philosophical and scientific community as well, there has been no comprehensive historical treatment of the issue. Aristotle is commonly considered the inventor of teleology, although the precise term originated in the eighteenth century. But if teleology means the use of ends and goals in natural science, then Aristotle was rather a critical innovator of teleological explanation. Teleological notions were widespread among his predecessors, but Aristotle rejected their conception of extrinsic causes such as mind or god as the primary causes for natural things. Aristotle's radical alternative was to assert nature itself as an internal principle of change and an end, and his teleological explanations focus on the intrinsic ends of natural substances - those ends that benefit the natural thing itself. Aristotle's use of ends was subsequently conflated with incompatible 'teleological' notions, including proofs for the existence of a providential or designer god, vitalism and animism, opposition to mechanism and non-teleological causation, and anthropocentrism. Johnson addresses these misconceptions through an elaboration of Aristotle's methodological statements, as well as an examination of the explanations actually offered in the scientific works.
Theory and Practice in Aristotle's Natural Science
Theory and Practice in Aristotle's Natural Science - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Theory and Practice in Aristotle's Natural Science write by David Ebrey. This book was released on 2015-06-11. Theory and Practice in Aristotle's Natural Science available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. This collection of groundbreaking new essays show how Aristotle's natural science illuminates fundamental topics in his philosophy.
Teleology, First Principles, and Scientific Method in Aristotle's Biology
Teleology, First Principles, and Scientific Method in Aristotle's Biology - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Teleology, First Principles, and Scientific Method in Aristotle's Biology write by Allan Gotthelf. This book was released on 2012-02-23. Teleology, First Principles, and Scientific Method in Aristotle's Biology available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. This volume presents an interconnected set of sixteen essays, four of which are previously unpublished, by Allan Gotthelf—one of the leading experts in the study of Aristotle's biological writings. Gotthelf addresses three main topics across Aristotle's three main biological treatises. Starting with his own ground-breaking study of Aristotle's natural teleology and its illuminating relationship with the Generation of Animals, Gotthelf proceeds to the axiomatic structure of biological explanation (and the first principles such explanation proceeds from) in the Parts of Animals. After an exploration of the implications of these two treatises for our understanding of Aristotle's metaphysics, Gotthelf examines important aspects of the method by which Aristotle organizes his data in the History of Animals to make possible such a systematic, explanatory study of animals, offering a new view of the place of classification in that enterprise. In a concluding section on 'Aristotle as Theoretical Biologist', Gotthelf explores the basis of Charles Darwin's great praise of Aristotle and, in the first printing of a lecture delivered worldwide, provides an overview of Aristotle as a philosophically-oriented scientist, and 'a proper verdict' on his greatness as scientist.
Aristotle and the Science of Nature
Aristotle and the Science of Nature - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Aristotle and the Science of Nature write by Andrea Falcon. This book was released on 2005-09-08. Aristotle and the Science of Nature available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Exploration of Aristotle's philosophy of nature in the light of scholarly insights.
