Aristotelian Mirabilia and Early Peripatetic Natural Science

<p>This is the first volume devoted to the sections of the Aristotelian <i>Mirabilia </i>on natural science filling a significant gap in the history of the Aristotelian study of nature and especially of animals.</p><p>The chapters in this volume explore the <i>Mirabilia</i> or <i>De mirabilibus auscultationibus </i>(<i>On Marvelous Things Heard</i>) and its engagement with the natural sciences. The first two chapters deliver an introduction to this work: one a discussion of the history of the text and the other a discussion of Aristotelian epistemology and methodology and the role of the <i>Mirabilia </i>in that context. This is followed by eight chapters that together are effectively a commentary on those sections of the <i>Mirabilia </i>with close connections to Aristotle’s <i>Historia animalium </i>and to a number of Theophrastus’ scientific treatises. Finally the volume ends with two chapters on thematic topics connected to natural science running throughout the work namely color and disease.</p><p><em>The Aristotelian </em>Mirabilia <i>and Early Peripatetic Natural Science </i>should prove invaluable to scholars and students interested in the ancient Greek study of nature ancient philosophy and Aristotelian science in particular.</p>