ARISTOTLE

(384–322 BC)
Sundus, Jowel & Sarah
Who is Aristotle?
(Aristotle)
◦ Born in 384 B.C in Stagira in Northern Greece
◦ Parents were members of traditional
medical families
◦ Nicomachus, his father, served as court physician to
King Amyntus III of Macedonia. 
◦  Greek philosopher during the Classical period in
Ancient Greece
◦ Founder of the Lyceum and the Peripatetic school
of philosophy and Aristotelian tradition.
◦ First to investigate logic
◦ Promoted systematic observation and thought in
biology, physics, law, literature and ethics. 
◦ The Science he discovered lasted for over 1,500
years without significant challenge
Spontaneous Generation
◦  Historically speaking, the acceptance of spontaneous generation was challenging. The belief that life
could and did spring from non-living matter was ridiculous to them ("EARLY BELIEFS"). 
◦ The belief was accepted by Miletus, Anaxagoras, Epicurus, Aristotle, Basilio, Augustine, Paracelsus,
Van Helmont, Descartes, Harvey, Needham and Buffon ("EARLY BELIEFS").
◦ The phrase spontaneous generation specifically refers to an event caused by known natural forces of
the universe which under certain ‘natural’ conditions will always produce life if the necessary
conditions are present ("EARLY BELIEFS").
Aristotle & the Theory
of Spontaneous Generation
("Spontaneous Generation")
◦ Aristotle was one of the earliest recorded scholars to articulate
the theory of spontaneous generation. 
◦ Aristotle first posited his theory of spontaneous generation in
his book "On the Generation of Animals” around 350 B.C.
◦ Aims to explain the seemingly sudden emergence of
organisms such as rats, flies and maggots within rotting meat
and other decomposable items.
◦ Aristotle's theory persisted to the 17th century, where scientists
experimented to support or disprove the theory. 
Aristotle & Theory
of Spontaneous Generation
◦ Aristotle proposed that life arose from nonliving
material if the material contained pneuma (vital heat).
As evidence, he noted several instances of the
appearance of animals from environments previously
devoid of such animals, such as the seemingly sudden
appearance of fish in a new puddle of water
(Microbiology).
◦ Spontaneous generation posed an inherently challenging
problem to Aristotle; it is a case of remarkable tension
between empirical evidence and theory (Microbiology).
◦ The combination of the four elements that he believed
made up life were: earth, fire, air and water
("Spontaneous Generation"). 
Works Cited 
◦ “ EARLY BELIEFS IN SPONTANEOUS GENERATION.” A Brief History of the Theory of
Spontaneous Generation, pdfs.semanticscholar.org/98bd/a8f0d0739483624465568b0c2479febf317c.pdf.
◦ “Aristotle.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 8 July 2019,
www.biography.com/scholar/aristotle.
◦ Microscope, Through the. “-9 Spontaneous Generation Was an Attractive Theory to Many People, but
Was Ultimately Disproven.” Through the Microscope Main News RSS,
www.microbiologytext.com/5th_ed/book/displayarticle/aid/27.
◦ OpenStax. “Microbiology.” Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/microbiology/chapter/spontaneous-
generation/.
◦ “Spontaneous Generation: Definition, Examples, Theory.” Biology Dictionary, 31 May 2017,
biologydictionary.net/spontaneous-generation/.