To the modern student Aristotle’s physics and cosmology are likely to seem bizarre. His final causes, geocentrism, and sublunar and superlunar realms seem to have no correspondence with reality. But Aristotelianism makes more sense when one understands the historical context of ancient Greek thought. In fact Aristotle’s physics and cosmology describe and explain what we observe in nature. This is attested to by the fact that it was well accepted and influential for a millenium and a half. Eventually, however, as scientific understanding progressed, the Aristotelian explanations became increasingly strained. Aristotelianism became more of a tautology, as whatever was observed was described according to the ancient system. Fire, for example, had the quality of dryness and heat. But is this not simply a tautology? As Descartes put it: “If you find it strange that … I do not use the qualities called ‘heat,’ ‘cold,’ ‘moistness,’ and ‘dryness,’ as do the philosophers, I shall say to you that these qualities appear to me to be themselves in need of explanation.” Aristotelianism failed to explain the physical action causing the effects. Today Darwin’s theory of evolution follows a similar denouement. To modern scientists it seems strange, but Darwin had good reasons for his theories of common descent and evolution. In the final acts, however, evolution is more of a tautology. Like Aristotelianism, evolution is a superfluous explanatory device rather than a value added. The difference is that evolution is running its course over a couple of centuries, rather than a couple of millenia. Read more