| Organon Opera Omnia Graece | |
| 1495 |  |
| Aristoteles(Aristotle, c.384-322 B.C.) | |
|
Aristotle as the greatest philosopher in ancient Greece and was mentored by Plato; he was also the greatest natural scientist at the time. In terms of philosophy, Aristotle particularly emphasized on logics and construct the systematic foundation of logics. He established a method for logical reasoning along with the rigidity of logic, i.e., “a way of scientific thinking” which he considered this is to be the base of all sciences. In particular, he established the foundation of natural science research by asserting that one should consider actual experience, i.e., observation, as the basis of further study while employing logical reasoning in the study of natural science. Aristotle’s way of thinking, along with that of Plato, became the basis of Western European thought. In addition, in terms of natural scientific research, his approach became the foundation of zoology and botany, resulting in the establishment of a taxonomic method. In the field of physics, Aristotle wrote a book on the celestial sphere theory inspired by Plato and Eudoxus, which became the basis of the geocentric space model developed by Ptolemy. In this book, Aristotle proposed a theory related to the motion of a falling body. In this theory, he stated that the fall velocity should depend on the weight of the material because the light material travels upward and the heavy material travels downward (falls). In case of a projectile, he stated that when the material is thrown, a “power (impetus)” is provided to the material, which gradually decreases because of air resistance, and the material finally falls when the power becomes zero. Aristotle’s theories were later criticized by Copernicus, Tartaglia, Galileo, and others, and the mistakes related to his theories were rectified. However, the theories continued to have an extensive influence throughout the middle ages because the Catholic Church acknowledged his natural science as the sole authority by considering it the so-called “Bible on Nature.” Therefore, some scholars suggest that the development of accurate science was delayed by Aristotle’s theories; however, it should be noted that this premise is inaccurate. Because science generally progresses via criticism of the precedent theories, one could marvel at the history of science by considering that such a great theory subjected to criticism appeared so early in history. Despite the drawbacks of his theories, we can refer to Aristotle as “The Father of Science” because he established the concept that true science should be based on empirical observations. It has been reported that Aristotle wrote more than 400 books. Among them, approximately 50 books are currently available. His books were translated into Latin; the copies were read throughout the middle ages and were first published during the late 15th century. The book described here is the first collection of works presented in original Greek. In terms of natural science, the book contains “Physics,” which primarily addresses the theory of motion; “Creation and Annihilation,” which presents the four major elements (soil, water, air, and fire) comprising substances; “Celestial Bodies and the World,” which describes the astronomical theory; and “Meteorology”. Aldus Manutius, the famous Venetian publisher, published this book. |
