Introduction

Aristotle thought that it was possible to acquire scientific knowledge of the natural world but that none of his predecessors had the philosophical theories needed to develop such knowledge. One task he took for himself, then, was to provide a foundation for natural science. However, he did not simply argue that in principle one could acquire this sort of scientific knowledge; he put his theories into practice. More than 750 pages of his scientific works survive. These works are fascinating in their own right and have the power to help us understand central features of his natural philosophy. His practice sheds light on his theory and this theory, in turn, sheds light on his practice. His scientific works can, among other things, help us better understand his accounts of matter, necessity, teleology, definition, and proper scientific methodology.