The Science of Life in Aristotle and the Early Peripatos

This volume of fourteen essays brings together cutting-edge scholarship on Aristotelian and Peripatetic science of life, from the study of the soul to the research programme on animals and plants, but Aristotle's claim that eternal beings and the Prime Mover have life is also considered. This volume of fourteen essays explores the science of life in Aristotle and the Early Peripatos (Theophrastus and the Physical Problems) in its various dimensions—how the study of the soul contributes to the foundation of the science of perishable life, what is the program of this science and its main explanatory strategies, whether it is the explanation of natural generation or the relationship of the animal to its surroundings. But the authors also explore what might be, for Aristotle, the unity of life, not only that of animals and plants, but also that of celestial bodies and the Prime Mover. Front Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Contents Presentation Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Part 1 From the Study of the Soul to the Study of Perishable Life in Aristotle and Theophrastus Chapter 1 Life and Soul in Aristotle’s De Anima Chapter 2 The Soul Itself in Aristotle’s Science of Living Things Chapter 3 The Peripatetic Study of Perishable Life: Prospects and Limits Chapter 4 The Minimal Requisites of Life in Aristotle and Theophrastus Part 2 Explaining Perishable Living Things Chapter 5 Perittôma vs. Suntêgma: Was Aristotle Unfair in Equating Pangenesis with the “Seed as Suntêgma” Theory? Chapter 6 How Does a Living Animal Come to Be from Semen? The Puzzles of Aristotle’s Generation of Animals II 1–3 Chapter 7 All around the Body: Organism and Surrounding Environment in Aristotle Chapter 8 Living and Well-Living in Aristotle’s Zoology Chapter 9 Simple Solutions to Complex Problems: Spontaneous Generation in [Aristotle], Problemata physica X Chapter 10 Aristotle, Generation of Animals III 11: In Search of a Place for the Fourth Kind of Living Being Part 3 Life beyond Perishable Lives: Aristotle on the Unity of Life Chapter 11 Perishable and Imperishable Lives: Aristotle’s Analogy with the Heavenly Element in GA II 3.736b29–737a5 Chapter 12 “We Think of the Stars as Mere Bodies”: Aristotle’s Epistemological Confrontation with the Academy on Heavenly Bodies Chapter 13 The Life of Aristotle’s Prime Mover: Metaphysics Λ 7.1072b26–30 Coda Aristotle’s Biology and Modern Biology Chapter 14 Can Aristotle Be Considered a Biologist? Index Nominum Index Locorum Index of Ancient Names Back Cover