The necessity of scientific knowledge: a study on Aristotle's Posterior Analytics

• Grant number: 10/12826-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2010
• End date: October 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Lucas Angioni
• Grantee: Breno Andrade Zuppolini
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Aristotle´s feature of natural facts seems to reveal an incompatibility between them and the requirements he prescribes to the knowledge that claims itself to be rightfully scientific. The account of scientific knowledge in Posterior Analytics describes the object of science as involving a sort of "necessity", while events of nature happen only "in most cases" (hôs epi to poly), but not necessarily. Nevertheless the philosopher admits that there is indeed science of natural states of affairs as well as includes events that occur "in most cases" in the domain of scientific knowledge. We intend to investigate in what sense the object of science is called "necessary" and then determine how Aristotle is authorized to admit the knowability of natural phenomena.