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From this important work Aristotle gives us two of his most remembered contributions. First, the Four Causes and also the Four Elements (earth, wind, fire, and water). He uses these four elements to provide an explanation for the theories of other Greeks concerning atoms, an idea Aristotle considered absurd.
According to the cardiocentric hypothesis, the heart is the primary location of human emotions, cognition, and awareness. [1] This notion may be traced back to ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Greece, where the heart was regarded not only as a physical organ but also as a repository of emotions and wisdom. [2]
The theory held that "lower" animals are generated by decaying organic substances. Aristotle stated that, for example, aphids arise from dew on plants, flies from putrid matter, mice from dirty hay, and crocodiles from rotting sunken logs. [16] The basic idea was that life was continuously created as a result of chance events. [17]
Like many ethicists, Aristotle regards excellent activity as pleasurable for the man of virtue. For example, Aristotle thinks that the man whose appetites are in the correct order takes pleasure in acting moderately. Aristotle emphasized that virtue is practical, and that the purpose of ethics is to become good, not merely to know.
Aristotle says the word can be made clear by looking at examples rather than trying to find a definition. [15] Two examples of energeiai in Aristotle's works are pleasure and happiness . Pleasure is an energeia of the human body and mind whereas happiness is more simply the energeia of a human being a human. [16]
The philosophy of self examines the idea of the self at a conceptual level. Many different ideas on what constitutes self have been proposed, including the self being an activity, the self being independent of the senses, the bundle theory of the self, the self as a narrative center of gravity, and the self as a linguistic or social construct rather than a physical entity.
Darwin, too, noted these sorts of differences between similar kinds of animal, but unlike Aristotle used the data to come to the theory of evolution. [92] Aristotle's writings can seem to modern readers close to implying evolution, but while Aristotle was aware that new mutations or hybridizations could occur, he saw these as rare accidents ...
Perfectionism, as a moral theory, has a long history and has been addressed by influential philosophers. Aristotle stated his conception of the good life ().He taught that politics and political structures should promote the good life among individuals; because the polis can best promote the good life, it should be adopted over other forms of social organization.