Articles on Aristotle. I. Science

JONATHAN BARNES, MALCOLM SCHOFIELD, and RICHARD SORABJI (editors), Articles on Aristotle. L Science, London, Duckworth, 1975, 8vo, pp. xii, 224, £3.50 (paperback). Aristotle's science has been, and still is, a contentious issue, and a great deal of close study of his writings still remains to be carried out. However, as an indication of work already done, of opinions projected, and of interpretations made, this collection is most valuable. The editors' view ofthe importance ofAristotle's scientific endeavour is indicated by the fact that this volume is presented as the first of four, covering all of his philosophical thought. There are twelve articles or extracts from books, all of them having appeared elsewhere in the last fifty years, although some have been revised. All are written by outstanding authorities and seven have been translated from French or German by the editors. With the student in mind, Greek is either translated or transliterated. They deal with the development of Aristotle's thought, syllogistic, his theory of demonstration, his physics, teleology, mechanics, or rather, the absence of it, analogical explanation and his zoology. Each in its time was an important and scholarly contribution to Aristotelian studies and on the whole this assessment is still valid. Unfortunately the majority of the essays deal with the philosophy of science or with the physical sciences, and the biological aspects of his research are not fairly represented. Perhaps some critical appraisal of the pieces by the editors could have indicated additions to scholarship made since their publication, or shifts in opinion. However, the volume can be warmly recommended as a survey of opinions on Aristotle's science intended for students. Moreover there is an excellent critical bibliography and an index to passages cited from Aristotle's works, as well as a general index.