Aristotle
Aristotle, Greek philosopher and scientist, was born in 384 B.C.E. in Stagira, northern Greece. He died in 322 B.C.E. He is considered one of the most influential thinkers in history.
Aristotle’s father was the physician to the king of Macedonia. Being a doctor’s son most likely influenced his strong interest in science. Upon the death of his father in 367 B.C.E., Aristotle was sent to the Academy of Plato in Athens. He remained there for twenty years, first as a student, then as a teacher. He studied a wide variety of subjects, earning the nickname “the reader.” After Plato’s death, Aristotle left Athens and traveled about for twelve years. For a number of years during this time, he tutored Alexander the Great,the son of Phillip II of Macedonia. Aristotle married once or twice and had two children. At the age of fifty, he returned to Athens and founded his own school, the Lyceum. There, for twelve years, Aristotle studied a wide range of subjects, especially nature. When Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C.E., Aristotle feared political persecution, so he left Athens. He moved to Chalcis in central Greece, where he lived for a year until his death.
Aristotle made many important contributions to biology. He was the first to classify animals. He grouped animals as having blood or not in his most basic classification. His observations led to the knowledge that mammals are warm-blooded, have lungs, breathe air, and suckle their young. In classifying animals, Aristotle realized that they should not be grouped based only on their external parts. Instead, he understood that even animals that appeared very different could be related. Aristotle identified four means of reproduction: the abiogenetic origin of life from nonliving mud; budding (asexual reproduction); sexual reproduction without copulation; and sexual reproduction with copulation. Aristotle did not believe in natural selection, or survival of the fittest. Instead, he believed in teleology, that plants and animals have natural goals. Their form could be fully understood only when those goals were known. Aristotle believed that all organisms are perfectly adapted to their surroundings. His observations led to the principle that general structures appear before specialized ones, and that tissue forms before organs
Aristotle’s theory is in opposition to Charles Darwin’s “theory of evolution by natural selection.” Darwin argued that random genetic mutations produced slightly different characteristics in members of a species. Those individuals with advantageous traits would reproduce more successfully than those without them, resulting in a constantly evolving population. Darwin’s ideas of constant change, chance, and chaos are in contrast with Aristotle’s explanation of biology through order and purpose
Although it is known that Aristotle wrote a huge amount of material, most of it has been lost. The few documents that remain appear to be notes he used for teaching. Also, it is not certain whether some of the books attributed to him were actually written by him or by others who were summarizing his writings and teachings.
Aristotle made lasting contributions in fields other than the natural sciences. These were philosophy, logic, ethics, and psychology.
