Episode 133: Aristotle discusses his philosophy
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What does Aristotle say about the nature of physics versus modern particle physics?
Hello, my name is Noadius Dimitzilber and this is the Elucidations Podcast. Today we have with us one of the world's most famous philosophers, Aristotle. Yes, that Aristotle. Physics is often understood to be a science about fundamental particles such as atoms, upon which other sciences such as biology and astronomy are built. Aristotle paints a different picture. He sees the world as a subject of science, as something we can know, understand, and investigate, but believes that physics need not break down objects into microscopic particles. Rather, physics can help us understand objects in the world as we see them. Today, Aristotle will speak with us about how we can understand the world around us as intelligible on its own terms.
He will also discuss how things can come into existence rather than just being a reshuffling of particles, by discussing his conception of the four causes. This will help us understand how what something is is not distinct from what its purpose is, what it's meant to do. Aristotle will also give insight into what the purposes of objects, animals and humans are and what makes human happiness unique. Inventor of science, philosophy, and logic, Aristotle took some time off from his busy life to speak with us today. Thanks for listening.
Yeah. Nothing I'm gonna do.
Hello and welcome to Elucidations. I'm Matt Tigman.
And I'm Agnes Callard.
With us today is Aristotle. Founder of the Lyceum in Athens, and professor of philosophy there. He is here to discuss his philosophy. Aristotle, welcome.
Thank you for having me, Matt. It's a pleasure to be here. I've had a surprisingly difficult time booking engagements, um, given that I'm one of the most famous human beings ever to live. So it's a real treat to be here.
Yeah. Well, this will be your ticket to fame, I'm sure. So nowadays when philosophers work on things, they usually try to pick something like super specific to work on. And you know, you're famous for having done that as well, except you did it for everything. But I think it's fair to say that um the starting point for a lot of your philosophy is what you call physics. So what exactly is physics? I mean I think today we think of physics as like the study of how inert material objects behave, how they move around, like if I had a a pool table with balls on it, how the balls would bounce or something. Is that what you mean by physics or is it something different?
No, I you're right that physics is really the starting point of my philosophy. I I grew up uh dissecting animals with my father. It was a hobby of his. He was a doctor. And Whenever we would get some interesting creature at the market or something like that, we would dissect it and examine it and make notes on it. And it was really a sort of informal thing. Um But for me that was the sort of beginning of my philosophical life, uh to learn about what these animals were like. And so physics for me, uh since childhood really meant um the study of nature, but that was the study of the living things in nature. I I always came f at physics from the perspective of Questions about biology. Now, when I moved to Athens
and started working there with Plato and the people in his school Their approach is quite different. Their approach is much more like the modern approach, which is to understand physics in largely mathematical terms. So if you're familiar with Plato's physical theories, um in Atimaeus, for example, he suggests that everything in the universe is composed of very small triangles that would come together to form solid objects, and that these solid objects would then come together to form all of the things we see and can encounter in our everyday lives. And this is a an approach quite a lot like the modern approach, that you know, with sort of atoms and subatomic particles, and it lends itself to a sort of mathematical analysis.
The place where I stepped off from that is in thinking that the world that we actually encounter, the world that we see in front of us, is intelligible on its own terms. Platonistic physicists and modern physicists alike would say that
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does Aristotle say about the nature of physics versus modern particle physics?
0:00–5:31
2
How does Aristotle’s early experience dissecting animals shape his view of physics and biology?
5:31–12:41
3
Why does Aristotle reject atomism and what alternative does he propose for explaining natural phenomena?
12:41–18:15
4
What are Aristotle’s four causes and how do they connect matter, form, purpose, and agency?
18:15–23:40
5
How does Aristotle explain the literal creation of a dog rather than mere rearrangement of particles?
23:40–29:13
6
What is Aristotle’s account of purpose in non‑human beings like spiders, dogs, and foxes?
29:13–34:09
7
How does Aristotle distinguish human purpose and happiness from animal pleasure?
34:09–39:42
8
Why does Aristotle claim that ethical and political action provide the deepest source of happiness?
39:42–45:05
Speakers
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