(If you’re not interested in the history of philosophy, you can skip this.)
The Tortoise is expressing an idea that does back to Aristotle. Aristotle is the greatest philosopher ever, but it would be too much to expect him also to be Galileo and Newton. But without their concepts of inertia and gravity, Aristotle assumed that all movement, indeed all change, required some cause.
In an attempt to come up with one concept of causation for all things, he decided that everything had to have a goal (teleos). So objects fall and smoke rises because that is their goal. The heavenly bodies move because they each have their goal. A child becomes an adult and an acorn becomes an oak because that is their goal. And so these grapes in some sense want, desire, LONG to be eaten.
At root Aristotle, the world’s first biologist, made the mistake of attributing the non-conscious goalfulness of living things to inanimate matter. Though I’ve made it sound sillier than Aristotle does, and I have to admire the sheer scope of his imagination, it was a mistake nonetheless. On the other hand, I can forgive the inventor of logic and the person most responsible for creating Western Culture.
FUNG1 over 14 years ago
You believe what makes YOU feel better[superior] MY belief[opinion] :-]
cleokaya over 14 years ago
And I do my best to fulfill the wishes of all those fruits and vegetables.
pschearer Premium Member over 14 years ago
(If you’re not interested in the history of philosophy, you can skip this.)
The Tortoise is expressing an idea that does back to Aristotle. Aristotle is the greatest philosopher ever, but it would be too much to expect him also to be Galileo and Newton. But without their concepts of inertia and gravity, Aristotle assumed that all movement, indeed all change, required some cause.
In an attempt to come up with one concept of causation for all things, he decided that everything had to have a goal (teleos). So objects fall and smoke rises because that is their goal. The heavenly bodies move because they each have their goal. A child becomes an adult and an acorn becomes an oak because that is their goal. And so these grapes in some sense want, desire, LONG to be eaten.
At root Aristotle, the world’s first biologist, made the mistake of attributing the non-conscious goalfulness of living things to inanimate matter. Though I’ve made it sound sillier than Aristotle does, and I have to admire the sheer scope of his imagination, it was a mistake nonetheless. On the other hand, I can forgive the inventor of logic and the person most responsible for creating Western Culture.
realman over 14 years ago
Thanks pschearer! That was helpful. (And saved an otherwise uninteresting strip.)