Aristotle

Aristotle, with plato, were the two Greek philosophers who most influenced Western thought, including views of the natural world. Aristotle's original and systematic compilation of observation and speculation shaped the history of science and philosophy for centuries.

Aristotle wrote treatises on nearly every branch of human knowledge, from politics to poetry. He was profoundly interested in the facts of nature, and his best scientific work includes a number of volumes on biology, which formed the greatest synthesis of his time. Of note are his studies of the anatomy and physiology of Mediterranean animals, which show him to be a keen observer and anatomist. His work was not without error, however. Some of his more improbable ideas appear to have come from secondhand data or folklore.

Aristotle classified ...