Aristotle And Meteorology

Thesis: How accurate or inaccurate were Aristotle’s writings on meteorology?

Introduction: Aristotle wrote about many subjects that can be grouped into five general divisions: logic, physical works, psychological works, natural history works, and philosophical works. One of the little known physical works concerned meteorology. Aristotle’s views on meteorology are fascinating, but many of the views were not accurate. This paper compares only a few of his views to actual meteorological facts.

I. Biography

A. Birth and growth

B. Influence on writings

II. Basis of Aristotle’s meteorology

A. Elements and theory

B. Science and facts

III. Water vapor and precipitation

A. Aristotle’s view

B. Science and fact

IV. Winds

A. Aristotle’s view

B. Science and fact

Conclusion: Aristotle explained the various meteorological phenomenon in simplistic terms. The explanations match his theory of how matter and shape were interrelated. Aristotle’s ideas on water vapor and precipitation were somewhat accurate, considering that there were no tools to measure the atmosphere in his time. His views on wind, however, were not accurate at all. He wrote extensively on winds, but never fully comprehended how wind occurred.

September 5, 2000

Aristotle on Meteorology

Aristotle was born in 384 BC, at Stagirus, a Greek colony on the Aegean Sea near Macedonia. In 367 BC, Aristotle entered the Academy at Athens and studied under Plato, attending his lectures for a period of twenty years. In the later years of his association with Plato and the Academy, he began to lecture on his own account, especially on the subject of rhetoric. When Plato died in 347, Aristotle and another of Plato’s students, Xenocrates, left Athens for Assus, and set up an academy (Encyclopedia 2).

In 342, Aristotle returned to Macedonia and became the tutor to a very young Alexander the Great. He did this for the next five to seven years. Both Philip and Alexander appear to have paid Aristotle high honor. There are stories that indicate the Macedonian court supplied Aristotle with funds for teaching, and with slaves to collect specimens for his studie...

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...thunderstorms that leave a micro scale high-pressure dome in their wake (Lutgens 153).

Aristotle explained the various meteorological phenomenon in simplistic terms. The explanations match his theory of how matter and shape were interrelated. Aristotle’s ideas on water vapor and precipitation were somewhat accurate, considering there were no tools to measure the atmosphere in his time. His views on wind, however, were not accurate at all. He wrote extensively on winds but never fully comprehended how wind occurred

Works Cited

Aristotle. Great Books of the Western World. Volume 1. Chicago: Robert P. Gwinn, 1990.

Aristotle. “Meteorology” 113 - 438. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Internet Address: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/meteorology.1.i.html. Translated by E. W. Webster. 27 Aug. 2000.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy 1-321. University of Tennessee at Martin.

Internet Address: http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/a/aristotl.htm. 24 Aug. 2000.

Lutgens, Frederick K. and Edward J. Tarbuck. The Atmosphere. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1992.

Sahakian, William S. and Mabel Lewis Sahakian. Ideas of the Great Philosophers. New York: Barnes & Noble Inc., 1970.