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| Becoming a Lover of Nature
The Exercise of Green Virtues
Natural Teleology, Justice, and ExcellencePart II: A TheoryCould it be that the islands of Assos and Lesbos were to Aristotle what the Galapagos Islands were to Charles Darwin?Charles Darwin once said of Aristotle:"I had not the most remote notion what a wonderful man he was.Linnaeus?and Cuvier have been my two gods, though in very different ways, but they were mere schoolboys to old Aristotle.[1]"Aristotle delighted in the "meticulous observation and classification of the species,[2]" in "connecting the particular to the general, and in observing nature at work in all its perfection.[3]" Aristotle even found beauty in natural objects and animals that were not pleasant to the senses[1], recognizing a certain design or craftsmanship in the causes of things,[4] and he "thrived in the constantly changing world of nature.[5]"?Arguably he came to realize that Nature itself was vital to understanding man and philosophy, encapsulated in his saying "Ouden Anef Physeos Gignetai" [Nothing can be done without nature].[6] His appreciation of Nature, expressed in anthropomorphic language, extended to its efficiency as well:
???????????????????????"Nature, like a good housekeeper, throws nothing useful away.Nature does??nothing in vain, and nothing useless.Nature acts as if she foresees the future.[7]"???However, Aristotle was aware of the fact that his studies in biology and zoology were looked down upon and weren't given any serious attention by his contemporaries,[8] so to justify his research Aristotle devised the teleological approach as a strategy to explain both the ends (purpose) of plants and animals[9][10][11] as well as an ends based foundation for the ethics and politics of man.[12] Indeed, on Aristotle's account of virtue and excellence, we don't need to limit our discussion of virtue to man alone, but can extend it to anything that performs its purpose well, including plants and animals.[13] This, of course, would be a more radical / interpretive reading of Aristotle, but given everything we have thus discussed, it is certainly a plausible perspective on Aristotle.But whatever may be the actual cause of Aristotle's decision to visit Assos and Lesbos, whether as an escape from the political strife in Athens, or as a fresh start with a school of philosophy apart from and both the Academy and Athens, his four year adventure there, in my imagination, turned Aristotle into lover of nature.I imagine him sitting in quiet forest groves carefully observing, recording, and reflecting upon nature.I imagine him interacting with the animals and drawing comparisons between his being and theirs.I also imagine him walking along sandy beaches and observing the impressions that he has made.And finally, I imagine him wistfully leaving behind his beloved nature on the islands of Assos and Lesbos to answer the call to return to the public service and political life he had abandoned.Abstract Aristotle: Lover of NatureThough the commonly accepted historical view of Aristotle suggests that he was more likely concerned with relations between things in nature qua phenomena as opposed to things in nature qua ecosystems,[14] there are just too many contradictions and inconsistencies in Aristotle to claim that every single surviving work of his was actually written by him and indeed, I shamelessly exploit this ambiguity to its fullest measure and posit that Aristotle might have been this Lover of Nature such that in a possible world an overzealous student or unknown scribe, or maybe even some future revisionist [It is highly unlikely, for instance, that the Greeks had any contact or knowledge of the Celts during Aristotle's time! |
| Though the commonly accepted historical view of Aristotle suggests that he was more likely concerned with relations between things in nature qua phenomena as opposed to things in nature qua ecosystems,[14] there are just too many contradictions and inconsistencies in Aristotle to claim that every single surviving work of his was actually written by him and indeed, I shamelessly exploit this ambiguity to its fullest measure and posit that Aristotle might have been this Lover of Nature such that in a possible world an overzealous student or unknown scribe, or maybe even some future revisionist [It is highly unlikely, for instance, that the Greeks had any contact or knowledge of the Celts during Aristotle's time!(NE.III.7:1115b26)],[15] finding Aristotle's love of nature insensible or incoherent [or perhaps offensive to their exalted sense of man], might have transcribed or revised an anthropocentric view that was not Aristotle's.Thus, what follows from here is an interpretation of Aristotle from this perspective: that the philosopher and legend he became was shaped by the lover of nature he had become.[1] [part of his rebellion, no doubt, from Plato's reliance on appearances][1] From the net: (http://www.lesvos.com/history.html): "There is a famous saying by Darwin, who was much impressed the first time he read Aristotle's zoological books: 'I had not the most remote notion what a wonderful man he was.Linnaeus and Cuvier have been my two gods, though in very different ways, but there were mere schoolboys to old Aristotle."[2] Burstein, pp.249: "[Aristotle] was never happier than in the meticulous observation and classification of species."[3] Burstein, pp.249: "Scholars in all disciplines, but especially perhaps biologists, will recognize the delight he took in connecting the particular to the general, and in observing nature at work in all its perfection."[4] Burstein, pp.249: "Even in the animals that are not attractive to the senses, [Aristotle] wrote, 'the craftsmanship of nature provides extraordinary pleasures who are able to recognize the causes in things and who have a natural inclination to philosophy' (On the Parts of Animals 645a 7ff)."[5] Burstein, pp.249: "Aristotle thrived in the constantly changing world of nature"[6] From the net: (http://www.biopolitics.gr/HTML/PUBS/VOL5/html/val_gre.htm): "Aristotle looked at nature with wonder and explained Ouden anef physeos gignetai that is 'Nothing can be done without nature'."[7] From the net: (http://www.biopolitics.gr/HTML/PUBS/VOL5/html/val_gre.htm): "He virtually used anthropomorphic language to express the way nature works.Here are some references from his book On Animal Generation: 'Nature, like a good housekeeper, throws nothing useful away.Nature does nothing in vain, and nothing useless.Nature acts as if she foresees the future'." |
| Nature acts as if she foresees the future'."[8] From the net: (http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/aristotle/section3.rhtml): "At that time biology as a science was looked down upon and not given much serious attention.Thus Aristotle felt obliged to justify his attention."[9] From the net: (http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/aristotle/section3.rhtml): "To do so, he used an innovative teleological approach.Such an approach involves the determination of the nature ends of things, and in the case of biology, the ends of plants and animals."[10] Rosenstand, pp.347: "For Aristotle everything in nature does have a purpose"[11] Baird, pp.144: "The 'goal' or 'end' (Teleos in Greek), the final cause, of any given substance is the key to its understanding.This means that all nature is to be understood in terms of final causes or purposes.This is known as a 'teleological' explanation of reality."[12] From the net: (http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/aristotle/section3.rhtml): "Teleology would be the basis for many of Aristotle's treaties in other areas, including politics and ethics"[13] Rosenstand, pp.347: "For Aristotle virtue lies in the difference between doing something and doing it well.Virtue, therefore, is not reserved for humans; anything that fulfills its purpose with excellence can be said to be virtuous."[14] Rosenstand, pp.346: "Aristotle himself was not particularly interested in the relations between things in nature, such as an ecosystem, but was more concerned with the separate characteristics of natural phenomena."[15] Ackrill, pp.399: "Of those who go to excess he who exceeds in fearlessness has no name (we have said previously that many states have no names), but he would be a sort of madman or insensible person if he feared nothing, neither earthquakes nor the waves, as they say the Celts do not." |
| 399: "Of those who go to excess he who exceeds in fearlessness has no name (we have said previously that many states have no names), but he would be a sort of madman or insensible person if he feared nothing, neither earthquakes nor the waves, as they say the Celts do not."Nicomachean Ethics, Book III, Chapter 7, 1115b25 |
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