Aristotle

PART V. THE RECEPTION

PART V T H E R E C E P T I O N The history of Aristotle’s influence is almost unique. For two millennia, up to the threshold between the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, philosophy and the sciences were shaped partly by the reception and development, and partly by the critique of Aristotle’s thought. Many of the philosopher’s concepts—some directly , but the majority via Latin translation—have become a definite component of the languages of the sciences and even of colloqial speech in Europe and adjacent countries. Equally, the names of numerous disciplines and in particular their basic concepts and many patterns of argumentation go back to Aristotle. Even after the wane of his influence in the course of early modern times, Aristotle time and again became an important starting point for systematic philosophizing. It goes without saying that in the following these tangled—and not yet fully investigated —paths can be discussed only summarily. ...