Aristotle and the Science of Nature: Unity without Uniformity

Description

Andrea Falcon's work is guided by the exegetical ideal of recreating the mind of Aristotle and his distinctive conception of the theoretical enterprise. In this concise exploration of the significance of the celestial world for Aristotle's science of nature, Falcon investigates the source of discontinuity between celestial and sublunary natures and argues that the conviction that the natural world exhibits unity without uniformity is the ultimate reason for Aristotle's claim that the heavens are made of a special body, unique to them. This book presents Aristotle as a totally engaged, systematic investigator whose ultimate concern was to integrate his distinct investigations into a coherent interpretation of the world we live in, all the while mindful of human limitations to what can be known. Falcon reads in Aristotle the ambition of an extraordinarily curious mind and the confidence that that ambition has been largely fulfilled.

Andrea Falcon is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Concordia University, Montreal. He is the author of Corpi e Movimenti: Il De caelo di Aristotele e la sua fortuna nel mondo antico (Naples, 2001).

'... [a] tightly argued monograph on Aristotle's Meteorology ... Falcon's excellent study has relevance to both Aristotle scholarship and contemporary concerns.' British Journal of the History of Science 'The book is tightly argued and situates Aristotle's arguments in the historical tradition of commentary upon his work in a clear and highly sophisticated fashion. ... It should be of great interest to advanced undergraduates and others who are interested in a highly engaging and important account of Aristotle's understanding of the science of nature. ... F. has offered up an extremely compelling set of tightly linked arguments showing that Aristotle's position on the discontinuity between the sublunary and celestial worlds has wide ranging implications for the integration of sciences such as biology and meteorology and for how Aristotle understands the "system " of nature as a whole. ...This book will be of interest to those wishing to gain a greater understanding of how Aristotle's philosophy of science is situated historically - as I have stated the historical context provided with respect to doxographers and ancient commentators is outstanding ... the footnotes are extensive and filled with references to a good deal of recent work related to Aristotle's conception of science. Bryn Mawr Classical Review