Aristotle on the Mechanism of Inheritance

@article{Henry2006AristotleOT,
  title={Aristotle on the Mechanism of Inheritance},
  author={Devin Henry},
  journal={Journal of the History of Biology},
  year={2006},
  volume={39},
  pages={425-455}
}
  • Devin Henry
  • Published 26 July 2006
  • Biology
  • Journal of the History of Biology
In this paper I address an important question in Aristotle’s biology, What are the causal mechanisms behind the transmission of biological form? Aristotle’s answer to this question, I argue, is found in Generation of Animals Book 4 in connection with his investigation into the phenomenon of inheritance. There we are told that an organism’s reproductive material contains a set of “movements'' which are derived from the various “potentials'' of its nature (the internal principle of change that… Expand
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  • D. Depew
  • Philosophy, Medicine
  • Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences
  • 2008
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References

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In this paper I discuss a problem of interpretation in the Generation of Animals (abbreviated G.A.), and propose a resolution of it. The difficulty is how to understand Aristotle's explanation of… Expand
Aristotle’s Biology was not Essentialist
The kind of essentialism that has been attributed to Aristotle's biology either identifies form and species, or recognises individual forms merely äs variations from a basic specific form. The… Expand
Metaphysics in Aristotle's Embryology
Traditionally, discussion of Aristotle's metaphysics, including his theory of form and the ‘what it is to be’ any given substantial object, has dealt extensively with relevant texts in the… Expand
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In De Partibus Animalium I Aristotle sets out his philosophy of biology, discussing cause, necessity, soul, genus and species, definition by logical division, and general methodology. In De… Expand
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