Philosophers of Nature: Origin, Characteristics and Principal Philosophers of Nature

The philosophy of nature or natural philosophy is the name given to the great variety of beliefs about nature that existed before the development of what is now known as science. That is, all that character that contributed to the scientific field before the modern sciences existed is called a natural philosopher.

This term refers to philosophical thinking about nature and the physical universe in antiquity. Physics has also been called natural philosophy in times as recent as the last century, but it is not the most common way to use the term.

It is considered that Aristotle laid the foundations for the philosophy of nature

However, nowadays the University of Oxford continues to call its physics courses as a modern philosophy. The ancient thinker who is most related to natural philosophy is Aristotle, who gave the basis for the creation of this term, because natural philosophy encompasses a large number of ideas that this thinker categorized as physical sciences.

Origin

The history of natural philosophy is closely related to the emergence of natural science. The term"science"was recently coined (on a historical scale), since it began to be used in the 19th century.

Before its use, the current philosophical thinkers who are known today were acclaimed for their contributions to natural philosophy. This philosophy included the whole series of questions that were asked in antiquity, which are now defined as sciences.

Although the term of natural philosophy after the 14th century has been used to refer to the scientific contributions of chemistry and physics, during the Golden Age of the Greek thinkers it encompassed all the inquiries that were made about the natural world.

The term arises in the pre-Socratic era, when the first philosophers began to try to give a logical explanation to why natural phenomena occur. In this case, they inquired into the facts without relying on religion, which gave a more"scientific"air to their thoughts and away from the myths of the Greek gods.

characteristics

Since the days of Plato, the philosophy of nature has been categorized as a theoretical branch of philosophy. The other type of branch is the practice, which is made up of other types of methodologies such as ethics.

However, the results produced by natural philosophy are practical. The reason why it is considered a theoretical branch is because the results themselves fall into another type of more complex categories. The main purpose of this philosophy is to understand the universe, no matter what means should be used to do it.

The philosophical belief is that change is a reality in the cosmos; everything is in constant movement. However, some natural philosophers differ from this idea. The philosophy of nature, like many branches of social science, is vulnerable to the individual beliefs of each person who practices it.

The systems of each natural philosophical thinker shape their ideas and characterize this practice. For example, there are thinkers like Descartes that define two components that make up people: body and mind.

According to this system, the philosophy of nature encompasses all the beliefs that fall within the natural component. Everything that is located in the component of the mind is considered volitional (which is related to the desires of people) and, therefore, does not fall into the category of natural philosophy.

What study?

The branches of the philosophy of nature encompass practices that are defined today as pure sciences. Astronomy and cosmology are part of natural philosophy, because they are defined as the study of the whole on a wide scale.

Other branches of natural philosophy are:

- The mechanics and laws of movement and aerodynamics.

- The study of the physical and chemical properties of objects.

- Statistics, to determine the probability of events.

- The etiology, the study of the causes of the events of the universe and the world.

- The study of the elements of nature such as fire, water, particles, molecules, and so on.

- The study of what is or is not infinite.

- The study of the matter and its components.

- The study of space and time.

Main philosophers of nature

Plato

Plato is one of the most influential philosophers in the history of mankind. He was the student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. Although the authorship of his works has been discussed by experts for years, he worked with several branches of philosophy, combining ethics, political philosophy and moral psychology.

Aristotle

Next to Plato, Aristotle is considered one of the fathers of the philosophy of his time. The current philosophy inherited almost all the terms that are used today widely from the creations of this thinker.

The capacity for inquiry that Aristotle had generated a boom in logical thinking and it is thought that this influenced all areas of knowledge.

Rene Descartes

Descartes is considered the father of modern philosophy. Most of the works that emerged in the western part of the world are based on his thoughts, which are still studied closely today. He profoundly influenced philosophy worldwide and also contributed to mathematics.

Isaac Newton

Newton is recognized as one of the most important scientists of all time, after having coined the term science. However, before this he was considered a natural philosopher. He wrote the book called Mathematical principles of natural philosophy and contributed a great source of knowledge to the scientific field.

Charles Darwin

Darwin was a philosopher entirely dedicated to the study of nature and his studies are still used today as scientific references.

He was the one who developed the theory of evolution through natural selection, and who first theorized the idea that man is the product of a series of changes that took place over millennia.

References

1. Philosophy of Science, Encyclopaedia Britannica, (n.d.). Taken from Britannica.com
2. Natural Philosophy in the Renaissance, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2015. Taken from Stanford.edu
3. Natural Philosophy, Wikipedia en Español, February 23, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
4. Isaac Newton, Biography Website, 2017. Taken from biography.com
5. Charles Darwin, Biography Website, 2017. Taken from biography.com
6. René Descartes, Biography Website, 2016. Taken from biography.com
7. Dish, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (n.d.). Taken from utm.edu
8. Aristotle, Anthony J.P. Kenny and Anselm H. Amadio, March 28, 2018. Taken from Britannica.com