Difference between revisions of "Theophrastus"
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His two surviving botanical works, ''[[Enquiry into Plants]]'' (''Historia Plantarum'') and ''[[On the Causes of Plants]]'', were an important influence on Renaissance science. | His two surviving botanical works, ''[[Enquiry into Plants]]'' (''Historia Plantarum'') and ''[[On the Causes of Plants]]'', were an important influence on Renaissance science. | ||
| − | There are also surviving works [[On Moral Characters]], [[On Sensation]], [[On Stones]], and fragments on [[ | + | There are also surviving works ''[[On Moral Characters]]'', ''[[On Sensation]]'', ''[[On Stones]]'', and fragments on [[physics]] and ''[[Metaphysics (Theophrastus)|Metaphysics]]''. |
In [[philosophy]], he studied [[grammar]] and [[language]] and continued Aristotle's work on [[logic]]. | In [[philosophy]], he studied [[grammar]] and [[language]] and continued Aristotle's work on [[logic]]. | ||
Revision as of 06:48, 27 April 2016
Theophrastus (/ˌθiːəˈfræstəs/; Greek: Θεόφραστος Theόphrastos; c. 371 – c. 287 BC), a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school.
Biography
He came to Athens at a young age and initially studied the Platonic Academy.
After Plato's death, he attached himself to Aristotle.
Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings and designated him as his successor at the Lyceum.
Theophrastus presided over the Peripatetic school for thirty-six years, during which time the school flourished greatly.
He is often considered the "father of botany" for his works on plants.
After his death, the Athenians honored him with a public funeral.
His successor as head of the school was Strato of Lampsacus.
Interests
The interests of Theophrastus were wide ranging, extending from biology and physics to ethics and metaphysics.
His two surviving botanical works, Enquiry into Plants (Historia Plantarum) and On the Causes of Plants, were an important influence on Renaissance science.
There are also surviving works On Moral Characters, On Sensation, On Stones, and fragments on physics and Metaphysics.
In philosophy, he studied grammar and language and continued Aristotle's work on logic.
He also regarded space as the mere arrangement and position of bodies, time as an accident of motion, and motion as a necessary consequence of all activity.
In ethics, he regarded happiness as depending on external influences as well as on virtue and famously said that "life is ruled by fortune, not wisdom."
Metaphysics
Theophrastus seems, generally speaking, where the investigation overstepped the limits of experience, to have preferred to develop the difficulties rather than solve them, as is especially apparent in his Metaphysics.
He was doubtful of Aristotle's teleology and recommended that such ideas be used with caution:
With regard to the view that all things are for the sake of an end and nothing is in vain, the assignation of ends is in general not easy, as it is usually stated to be ... we must set certain limits to purposiveness and to the effort after the best, and not assert it to exist in all cases without qualification.
— Theophrastus, Metaphysics, 10a.22–24, 11a.1–3.
He did not follow the incessant attempts by Aristotle to refer phenomena to their ultimate foundations, or his attempts to unfold the internal connections between the latter, and between them and phenomena.
