THEORY OF THE HUMAN BODY IN ARISTOTLE. ITS BIOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY AS IT APPEARS IN DE PARTIBUS ANIMALIUM
Keywords:
Aristotle, Human Body Philosophy, Human Body Theory, Aristotle Biology, Sport Philosophy, De Partibus AnimaliumAbstract
All of Aristotle's biology is teleological, essentialist, individualistic, organicist and non-evolutionary. These principles of explanation of the living being are applied by Aristotle to the human body. The human being's ability to think determines the form of his body and its characteristics: release of weight from the upper part, hands and arms with special features, fleshy and muscular buttocks that allow it to stand and sit, legs with muscles to stand, breasts in the front part thanks to the release of the support function of the upper limbs and that allow protection of the chest and its vital organs, absence of tail that allows sitting, feet larger in size compared to animals to facilitate standing and walking. Therefore, the human body does not really appear as a model for the body of animals but rather as a counterpart, since what determines the form of every living body is its function (ergon) or way of life, and the human being for Aristotle is to live by thinking, something peculiar to man, even though he shares many other cognitive abilities with the animals. And sport, in its movements, is a genuinely human manifestation of thought.
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References
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