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Aristotle (384–322 BC) studied at Plato's Academy in Athens, remaining there for about 20 years.Like Plato, he sought universals in his philosophy, but unlike Plato he backed up his views with detailed and systematic observation, notably of the natural history of the island of Lesbos, where he spent about two years, and the marine life in the seas around it, especially of the Pyrrha lagoon ...
Aristotle's works contain accurate observations, fitted into his own theories of the body's mechanisms. [16] However, for Charles Singer, "Nothing is more remarkable than [Aristotle's] efforts to [exhibit] the relationships of living things as a scala naturae."
Historia animalium et al., Constantinople, 12th century (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, pluteo 87.4). History of Animals (Ancient Greek: Τῶν περὶ τὰ ζῷα ἱστοριῶν, Ton peri ta zoia historion, "Inquiries on Animals"; Latin: Historia Animalium, "History of Animals") is one of the major texts on biology by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who had studied at Plato ...
Aristotle's work centered on direct observation in the wild and dissection of animals. He dissected at least 110 different species, including bats, octopi, dolphins, and chameleons.
Progression of Animals (or On the Gait of Animals; Greek: Περὶ πορείας ζῴων; Latin: De incessu animalium) is one of Aristotle's major texts on biology.It gives details of gait and movement in various kinds of animals, as well as speculating over the structural homologies among living things.
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. For Aristotle, accidents, like heat waves in winter, must be considered distinct from natural causes.
By Aristotle's own account, this is a difficult and controversial concept. [ citation needed ] It links with theories of forms such as those of Aristotle's teacher, Plato , but in Aristotle's own account (see his Metaphysics ), he takes into account many previous writers who had expressed opinions about forms and ideas, but he shows how his own ...
The mediaeval great chain of being as a staircase, implying the possibility of progress: [1] Ramon Lull's Ladder of Ascent and Descent of the Mind, 1305. Alternatives to Darwinian evolution have been proposed by scholars investigating biology to explain signs of evolution and the relatedness of different groups of living things.