Aristotle's View of the Universe -Aristotle

OVER 2,300 years ago, Aristotle made major contributions to science and philosophy.  His works have commanded sustained interest and have been widely translated and studied. History Professor James MacLachlan wrote that  "Aristotle's views of nature dominated European thought for almost 2,000 years."  Some of Aristotle's views even influence Catholic and Protestant teachings, as well as Islam.

His Range of Interests Was Vast

Aristotle wrote about art, astronomy, biology, ethics, language, law, logic, magnetism, megaphysics, motion, pleasure, poetry, psychology, and rhetoric, as well as the soul, which he viewed as mortal.  His fame, however, rests foremost on his work in biology and logic. 

Ancient Greek scholars relied on their powers of observation, deduction, and logic  to explain  that natural world. starting with what they considered to be obvious  truths, they believed that  if they reasoned carefully on such truths, they would be able to come to correct conclusions.

Guided by that philosophy, they draw a number of sound conclusions - one being that there was an underlying order in the universe.  A major problem, however, was  that their powers of observation were limited to their unaided senses-a limitation that led many brilliant men, including Aristotle, astray.  For instance, they believed that  the planets and stars moved around the earth. At  that time, this was considered to be a self-evident truth.  "Both reason and experience seemed to confirm the Greek view of an earth-centered universe," states the book The Closing of the Western Mind.

That mistaken would have been of little consequence had it remained purely in the realm of science. But it did not.

Next time: Aristotle's View  of the Universe - Catholicism Embraces Aristotle

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