Reddit reviews Complete Works of Aristotle, Vol. 1
We found 6 Reddit comments about Complete Works of Aristotle, Vol. 1. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Princeton University Press
> I am a borderline exmuslim who is doubting.
Op be safe. What is the penalty for leaving Islam (Apostasy)? [Hint - it is not a firm handshake and a goodbye wishing you health and long life].
> Would you believe in Islam if there were no scientific errors in the Quran?
> In Islam there are no scientific errors and all have basically been worked around as misinterpretations.
First, no I still would not believe that Islam represented credible and supportable trueness concerning the existence of the God YHWH/Allah, nor the claims of Allah's interventions/revelations.
Why?
For the same reason you (and I) [probably] do not accept the existence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and His Noodly Appendages just because "The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster" is shown to be scientifically accurate; or of the Most Holy of Holy's, The Scared Narratives of Harry Potter, are shown to be completely accurate in the science presented.
Secondly, there are scientific errors within the Qur'an, and even though these errors have been apologized to death, a critical assessment of these apologetics... in accordance with the claimed revelation from Allah in The Heavenly Qur'an:
"Produce your proof, if you should be truthful" (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:111) to me; just as Islam requires that the claims of Judaism and Christianity have to be proved, then the same reasoning requires that the claims of Islam must be proved as well. After all, "Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not use reason" (Surat Al-'Anfāl 8:22).
shows that the errors are actually errors and/or non-credible post-hoc reinterpretation of vague and non-precise ayat/ayah. To wit, an example and commentary:
Now here is an actual example of that would be considered scientific
foreknowledge in the Qur'an, if supportable - a candidate for an actual prophetic
miracle.
Al-Mu'minun 23:14 Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and
We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump,
bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into
another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.
So the bones came before the covering flash. Interesting. And not
supported by contemporary medical knowledge.
Without going into the scientific miracle of where the sperm are
produced (i.e., The Qur'an states sperm is made/stored in the small of
the back near the kidneys - and not the testicles), as I do not care to
argue the mental gymnastics required to apologize this "Truth" of the
Qur'an, the embryonic development of the bone first followed by flesh is
completely falsified. Again, in order to spare myself the crapfest of
apologetics to justify this "Prophecy" I will ask the question - Did
this information concerning embryonic growth already exist prior to the
claimed revelation via the Book of the Mother, via the messenger Angel
Gabriel (Jibra'il), via some form of supernatural to natural
communication to the Prophet Muhammad, via spoken voice to various
followers of the Prophet, from various followers spoken to scribes
years/decades after the death of Muhammad?
Why look at that, Aristotle, in the 4th century BCE described embryonic
development (Aristotle, De Generatione Animalium, Book II,
739b20-739b30, as per Jonathan Barnes \(ed.\), The Complete Works of
Aristotle, \(Princeton, 1985\), Vol 1, p.
1148.),
and his treatise also contains the same erroneous idea that the embryo
developed from a formless mass.
Damn, when the Prophet plagiarizes already "known" information, he still
got it wrong by plagiarizing that which was incorrect.
The post-hoc interpretation of Qur'anic ayat/verses using highly
selective imaginative interpretations of the meaning of the various
words to claim support for a scientific miracle represents highly flawed
apologetics.
It is interesting that the claim of miracle of the prophecies of
"scientific miracles" or "scientific foreknowledge" in the Qur'an are
all post hoc interpretations to their discovery by mere mortal humans.
It would be more convincing if the scientific knowledge was identifiable
as usable knowledge prior to human knowledge based development or
confirmation of this knowledge - rather than a post hoc interpretation
of a verse/narrative such that this knowledge is only, somehow, found
after it already becomes known.
Look at these claimed Qur'an miracles and the date that there were
recognized and the claims made - the overwhelming majority were made
after science laid the foundation for interpretation. Rephrased - All of
the claims of scientific miracles are made in hindsight (post hoc) -
all are made following the advancement of knowledge from other sources
and the verbiage within the Qur'an is then interpreted to show that this
knowledge was, somehow, there all along. As a source of scientific
knowledge, then, at best, the Qur'an has little worth.
If you wish to demonstrate that there is value in the scientific
knowledge claimed to be within the Qur'an, please present a scientific
postulation/hypothesis/theory derived from a verse, or from verses, from
the Qur'an that was developed prior to the development of this
knowledge from other sources. Or make prediction(s) of future scientific
knowledge based upon the Qur'an and develop a method of inquiry based
on this claimed scientific knowledge and gathering observable and
measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning and
experimentation and show that this predicted scientific knowledge to be
true to a high level of reliability and confidence. I am willing to wait
a lifetime for a beforehand/foresight version of scientific knowledge
from the Qur'an to be demonstrated in any meaningful way. Otherwise,
post hoc interpretations holds no credibility of the Qur'an as a source
of scientific claims/foreknowledge.
Finally, let us not overlook the numerous scientific errors, with or
without claims of prophecy/scientific foreknowledge, that are present in
the Qur'an:
1
Astronomy
1.1 Geocentricism
1.2 Setting and Rising Place of the Sun
1.3 Stars are Missiles Shot at Devils
1.4 Moon is Further from the Earth than the Stars
1.5 Moon Emits Light
1.6 Moon was Split in Two
1.7 Seven Planets in the Universe
1.8 Seven Heavens
1.9 Earth Created in Six Days
1.10 Earth Created before Stars
1.11 Sun is a Flat Disk
1.12 Sky is a Tent/Dome
1.13 Sky Guards the Earth
1.14 Sky is Made of Solid Material
1.15 Sky can Fall Down on People
1.16 Ignorance of the North and South Poles
2 Biology
2.1 Evolution
2.1.1 Human Creation from Clay
2.1.2 First Humans: Adam and Eve
2.1.3 Humans Created in Paradise and then Brought to Earth
2.2 Embryology
2.2.1 Sperm Originates Between the Backbone and Ribs
2.2.2 Embryo is Formed from Male and Female Fluids
2.2.3 No Mention of Female Ovum
2.2.4 Humans Created from a Clot of Blood
2.2.5 Only Allah Knows the Gender of a Fetus
2.3 All Organisms are Created in Pairs
2.4 Womb has Three Layers
2.5 Bones are Formed before Flesh
2.6 Source and Purity of Milk
3 Geology and Meteorology
3.1 The Earth is Flat
3.1.1 Facing Toward Mecca
3.1.2 Earth is Spread Out and Flat
3.1.3 Earth is Like a Couch
3.1.4 Earth is Like a Carpet
3.1.5 Earth is a Wide Plain
3.1.6 Earth is Level
3.2 Earth has Seven Atmospheric Layers
3.3 The Earth does not Rotate
3.4 Permanent Barrier between Fresh and Salt Water
3.5 Mountains Prevent Earthquakes
3.6 Mountains Cast into the Earth
3.7 Chest Contracts with Altitude
3.8 Earthquakes are a Punishment from God
3.9 Hurricanes and Blizzards are a Punishment from God
3.10 Rainwater is Pure
3.11 No Evaporation in Water Cycle
3.12 Hail Comes from Mountains in the Sky
3.13 Thunder is an Angel
4 Zoology
4.1 Bees Eat Fruit
4.2 Ants Recognize Humans and Speak with Each Other
4.3 Horses Created as Transportation
4.4 Bird Flight is a Miracle
4.5 Classification of Creatures
4.6 Only Eight Types of Cattle
4.7 Birth Defects and Imperfections
4.8 Poisonous Sea Life is Edible
4.9 Birds Fight Elephants
4.10 Sinful Animals
5 History
5.1 Wall of Iron between Two Mountains
5.2 Christians Worship Mary as Part of the Trinity
5.3 Noah's Ark holds Every Species
5.4 Pharaoh or Pharaohs
5.5 Jews call Ezra the Son of God
5.6 Supernatural Destruction of Cities
5.7 Humans can Sleep for Three Hundred Years
5.8 Humans can Live for a Thousand Years
5.9 Non-Existent Mosque in Jerusalem
6 Sociology
6.1 Fasting and Prayer Requirements at the Poles
6.2 People are Protected in Mecca
6.3 Non-Muslims are Deaf, Dumb, and Blind
6.4 All Animals Live in Communities
6.5 Requirement to Learn in Arabic
7 Myths and Legendary Tales
7.1 Humans Transformed into Apes
7.2 Tribe Trapped Behind a Wall
7.3 Supernatural Food
7.4 A Stick Transforms into a Serpent
7.5 Solomon's Army of Genies and Birds
7.6 Jonah Performs Repentance inside a Fish
7.7 Muhammad Flies on a Winged Horse to Heaven
7.8 Body Parts Speak
7.9 The Ocean Split in Half
7.10 Solomon can Control the Wind
7.11 A Dead Man Testified against his Killer
7.12 Animals Speak to Humans
7.13 Mountains and Birds can Sing Songs
8 Others
8.1 Mathematical Error in Hereditary Laws
8.2 People use the Forehead to Lie
8.3 Space Flight is Impossible
An excellent first introduction to Aristotle is Lear's Aristotle: The Desire to Understand. An excellent introduction that goes beyond the basics is Giovanni's A History of Ancient Philosophy, Vol. 2: Plato and Aristotle.
The standard English translations of Aristotle are in two volumes of Barnes' The Complete Works of Aristotle.
The traditional order to read the key texts would be to read the first volume of the Barnes edition in order up to and including On the Soul (skipping the spurious On the Universe), then from the second volume read Nicomachean Ethics then Metaphysics.
Alternately, you could start with what seems interesting and not too daunting. Nicomachean Ethics is a good place to start. Politics, Rhetoric, and Poetics are good choices, especially if you're interested in the subject matter. If the logic bores you, you could start with the physical and psychological works in the first volume.
Well, the gold standard is the 2 volume Oxford translation:
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Works-Aristotle-Vol-1/dp/069101650X
But the logical works are in a separate volume from the ethics and metaphysics.
Hackett is generally good too - this volume seems to have exactly what you're looking for:
http://www.amazon.com/Aristotle-Introductory-Readings-Hackett-Classics/dp/0872203395/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418606074&sr=1-1&keywords=hackett+aristotle
EDIT: Based on the Amazon reviews, these might be better alternatives to the Hackett edition:
http://www.amazon.com/Aristotle-Selections/dp/0915145677/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_i
http://www.amazon.com/New-Aristotle-Reader-J-Ackrill/dp/0691020434/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418606837&sr=1-2&keywords=ackrill+aristotle
This book doesn't include any of Aristotle's works - it's a companion piece that contains essays about Aristotle. If you want Aristotle's works, there is a Complete Works of Aristotle in two volumes.
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Works-Aristotle-Vol-1/dp/069101650X
EDIT: Google is enjoying enforcing copyright restrictions, but said reference looks like it begins here:
https://books.google.com/books?id=Jzd7Uh5Zco0C&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=arcadia
I'd start here and work your way from there.