Combining Texts

Ideas for 'works', 'Events' and 'De Anima'

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6 ideas

27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 1. Mechanics / a. Explaining movement
Movement is spatial, alteration, withering or growth [Aristotle]
     Full Idea: There a four sorts of movement - spatial movement, alteration, withering and growth.
     From: Aristotle (De Anima [c.329 BCE], 406a12)
     A reaction: Large parts of Aristotle's writings attempt to explain these four.
Practical reason is based on desire, so desire must be the ultimate producer of movement [Aristotle]
     Full Idea: There seem to be two producers of movement, either desire or practical intellect, but practical reason begins in desire.
     From: Aristotle (De Anima [c.329 BCE], 433a16)
Movement can be intrinsic (like a ship) or relative (like its sailors) [Aristotle]
     Full Idea: It is not necessary for what moves things to be itself moving. For a thing can be moving in two ways - with reference to something else, or intrinsically. A ship is moving intrinsically, but sailors move because they are in something that is moving.
     From: Aristotle (De Anima [c.329 BCE], 406a03)
     A reaction: I love the way that Aristotle is desperate to explain the puzzle of movement, yet we just take it for granted. Very illuminating about puzzles. Newton's First Law of Motion.
If all movement is either pushing or pulling, there must be a still point in between where it all starts [Aristotle]
     Full Idea: Every movement being either a push or a pull, there must be a still point as with the circle, and this will be the point of departure for the movement.
     From: Aristotle (De Anima [c.329 BCE], 433b26)
27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 1. Mechanics / b. Laws of motion
If something is pushed, it pushes back [Aristotle]
     Full Idea: What has pushed something else makes the latter push as well.
     From: Aristotle (De Anima [c.329 BCE], 435b30)
     A reaction: Aristotle seems to have spotted that this is intrinsic to massive bodies, and is not just friction etc. Newton adds a vector to Aristotle's insight.
27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 2. Life
What is born has growth, a prime, and a withering away [Aristotle]
     Full Idea: What has been born must have growth, a prime of life, and a time of withering away.
     From: Aristotle (De Anima [c.329 BCE], 434a23)
     A reaction: Modern biologists don't seem much interested in the 'prime of life', but for Aristotle it is crucial, as the fulfilment of a thing's essential nature. Nietzsche would probably agree with Aristotle on this. We dread seeing one period of life as 'superior'.