Source edition
Aristotle. Aristotelis Opera, Volume 3. Bekker, Immanuel, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1837.
Source data
A Digital Corpus for Graeco-Arabic Studies · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a scientific and philosophical treatise that investigates the natural factors determining the length and shortness of life in living organisms. The author begins by questioning why the lifespans of animals and plants vary so greatly among different species and environments, examining the relationship between the soul and the body through the process of destruction. He then discusses the existence of "contraries" that cause destruction and analyzes how natural attributes, such as size, habitat, and the presence of blood, relate to longevity. Furthermore, he identifies the quantity and quality of innate "heat" and "moisture" as the decisive physical causes of lifespan, discussing how factors like reproduction, labor, and climate affect them. Finally, the work explains why plants generally live longer than animals, pointing to the nature of their moisture and regenerative abilities, and concludes by previewing the next topics of inquiry: youth, old age, life, and death.