Aristotle's Contribution To Science

Philosophers such as Aristotle, Pythagoras and Anaximenes contributed greatly to science by laying the foundation for continuous evolution. This was done, in part, by cultivating and disputing each of their fellow philosopher’s theories. Throughout ancient science, philosophers sought to understand and explain the shape and position of the earth. Although many theories were introduced, Aristotle made strides in science by proposing in his text, On The Heavens, that the earth is spherical, situated in the center of the universe and held at rest. In contrast to his fellow philosophers, Aristotle began with empirical observations and constructed his theories by using more advanced methods. This is revolutionary compared to his predecessors,

In chapter 14 of On The Heavens, Aristotle broke down the rules of cosmology and argued that the shape of the earth is spherical, as opposed to the drum-shaped theory. Through qualitative observations Aristotle obtained of the cosmos, it was discovered that the appearance of constellations differed depending on the distance in terms of latitude from the equator. From this, Aristotle deduced that certain constellations disappear off the horizon as new constellations appeared. He used his cosmological observations in combination with knowledge of the circumference of the earth to support his theory that the earth must be spherical: “This shows not only that the earth is circular in shape, but also that it is a sphere of no great size: for otherwise, the effect of so slight a change of place would not be quickly apparent.” (Aristotle, On The Heavens, 2.14.5) Aristotle concludes that the earth must be smaller than expected to see a stark change in the constellation patterns across a small

Aristotle claims that throughout his previously accepted scientific work, theories did not account for facts. Instead, he claims that observations were used to fit a pre-determined theory. Aristotle outlines evidence they had previously examined: “as the sun rises and sets, the part concealed by the earth shows a straight and not a curved edge, whereas if the earth were spherical the line of section would have to be circular” (Aristotle, On The Heavens, 2.13.4). Aristotle argues that his predecessors’ theories regarding the flatness of the earth, which they attempted to further prove by observing the linear horizon, is a poor assumption to make and should not be accepted. He declares that one’s observations alone cannot successfully support a theory. The distance of earth to the sun is large, giving the sun an appearance of being small. In addition, the curvature of the earth is substantial, so one cannot see the arched shape through simple observation. By coupling these two concepts, one was led to believe and support that the earth was flat. Aristotle further proves that his method of forming observations and seeking answers in response to the observations is a far superior and less flawed method than the previously accepted