We see further by standing on the shoulders of giants. When Isaac Newton expressed this idea, he also exemplified it: he was effectively quoting 12th-century philosopher Bernard of Chartres. Who was probably making reference to the classical Greek myth of Orion, the temporarily blinded hunter who carried his diminutive servant, Kedalion, in order to see ahead. The notion that we are indebted to the knowledge of the past is a deeply revered cornerstone of our understanding of the universe, particularly in the sciences.
In this lush, epic and hugely enjoyable book, biologist Armand Marie Leroi explores the idea that it was another ancient Greek giant whose shoulders we may all stand upon. In his mid 30s, around 346 BCE, Aristotle exiled himself from Athens to islands in the Aegean, where he spent time thinking and writing about nature, possibly near a lagoon on Lesbos. We primarily know him as a philosopher, but here, Aristotle's biological output was titanic: he dissected dozens of species and compiled the first biology textbook, Historia Animalium. It is this body of work that Leroi argues continues to percolate through scientific thought today.
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