Aristotle was the first genuine scientist and one of the supreme philosophers who lived in history. Being one of the greatest philosophers, Aristotle’s work shaped centuries of philosophy. He made revolutionary contributions to all grounds of science and philosophy. He invented the field of formal logic. He also acknowledged the various scientific disciplines and discovered their relations. Aristotle has left a significant body of work as a prodigious researcher.
Table of Contents
- About Aristotle
- Description of the growth of a Chick inside an Egg
- Aristotle’s Contribution in Physics
- Classification of Living Beings
- Founder of Zoology
- Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
About Aristotle
Aristotle was born in 384 BC in a small town on the Northern coast of Greece, Stagira. Undoubtedly, he was one of the most well-known figures in ancient Greek history. Aristotle was an inquisitive man. He wanted to discover everything that could be identified about the natural world. “Through wonder, philosophy begins,” he wrote and, in that way, he dedicated himself to untying the knots of the mysteries of life.
Being the most famous pupil of Plato, the famous ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle was one who always showed his instinct to practise scientific and factual reasoning in his study of nature.
He truly earns the honour of being called the First Teacher, and perhaps it was because of his unbending fascination for nature, logic, and reason that he went on to make some significant contributions that can still be seen are in modern-day mathematics, physics, biology, botany, politics, medicine, and in many more facets of life.
Description of the growth of a Chick inside an Egg
Aristotle’s classic explanation that demonstrates his contribution to science is perhaps best explained through the evolution of a chick inside an egg. He addressed reproduction in birds, the process of egg formation and the development of chick embryos. He didn’t use his philosophy to determine how a chick hatches from an egg, but instead, he demonstrated it through a simple experiment. Eggs placed under hens were to be opened in sequence, one each day. It rapidly becomes evident that the embryo appears and gets nourished by the yolk, and the chick grows in the white after three days.
Aristotle’s Contribution in Physics
New frontiers were established by Aristotle in the field of Life Sciences. His endeavour into physics had no comparison at all. The universe is basically the composition of the four fundamental elements: earth, water, air, and fire; this view of Empedocles (the Greek pre-socratic philosopher) was also embraced by Aristotle.
Aristotle also believed that any change in the universe shows some motion. As part of theoretical science, Physics was undoubtedly understood by Aristotle, and that too was in sync with natural philosophy.
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Classification of Living Beings
In human history, the first person who ventured into the animal world, especially the classification of different animals, was Aristotle. The characters or traits that are common among certain animals helped him to classify them into similar groups. He has mentioned this in his book, History of Animals (Historia Animalium)
Similarly, he classified the animals that live in water or land based on their habitat. He positioned the human species at the top of this hierarchy. Aristotle also formulated binomial nomenclature, and using this system, two different sets of names could be given to all the living organisms, defined as the organism’s “genus” and “difference.”
Founder of Zoology
Aristotle made significant contributions in the field of zoology. He is also known as the Father of Zoology. As evident from his classification of living beings, all his classification procedures mainly involved different species of the animal kingdom only—however, a number of theses revolved around other zoology characteristics that were also written by him.
History of Animals, Movement of Animals, and Progression of Animals were some of his famous theses. Aristotle worked on outlining specific techniques that he would use to make precise observations.
These empirical methods were used by him to carry out numerous proto-scientific tests and experiments to study flora and fauna. One of his early observational trials included dissecting birds’ eggs during the different stages of embryonic development inside the egg. He was able to study the detailed evolution of other organs using his observations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Aristotle discover?
Aristotle founded the study of formal logic systematising logical arguments.
Who is known as the father of Zoology?
Aristotle is known as the father of Zoology, because of his major contributions to the structure and behaviour of animals.
Which is Aristotle’s most famous book?
On the Soul of Poetics.
What is Aristotle most famous for?
He was one of the greatest philosophers and the first genuine scientist in history.
Who was Plato?
Plato was a philosopher during the 5th century, who later taught Aristotle.
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