Theophrastus

Theophrastus (Greek Θεόφραστος; * 371 BC to Eresus on the island of Lesbos; † 287 BC in Athens? ) Was a Greek philosopher and naturalist. Theophrastus was a pupil of Aristotle, and head of the Peripatetic school. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Theophr. ".

Life

Theophrastus was initially a member of Plato's Academy before he followed Aristotle in the Peripatetic school founded by the former. Theophrastus was there the most important student and had after the takeover of the Scholar chat ( Headmaster shaft ) after Aristotle's death 322 up to 2000 students. Theophrastus is the author of about 200 fonts dialectical, metaphysical, moral, and physical content and the logic, some of which are natural history and philosophical and sometimes contain fragments from larger works. Its historical record of the doctrines of the pre-Socratic natural philosophy, physikon doxai is lost. Theophrastus was 85 years old and is for a - probably ironical - Report of Diogenes Laertius died of " nachlassendem zeal ".

As an ancient boundary stone occupied, Theophrastus received from his student Demetrios of Phalerum a garden area, which is part of the National Gardens in Athens today. In the garden there was also a shrine and a library.

Teaching

Philosophy

Theophrastus less developed its own philosophy, as he took over the teleology of Aristotle critical. While Aristotle nor the final cause as the first cause, first cause, looked, can be observed at Theophrastus in metaphysics that with him a shift towards efficient cause takes place. The main difference to the ontology of Aristotle ( and from that of Plato ) is that it is not expedient, yet regular natural phenomena, such as nipples are accepted causes in males than by the efficient cause. Overall, the picture of a much more moderate teleology, the font of fatigue (peri kopon ) is obtained by the traditional scriptures even mechanistically anmutet. Theophrastus move to a causal understanding that the modern is more similar than the Aristotelian, explains why it is on the one hand, came to acquire a more materialistic mindset among the Epicureans, on the other hand to reject the Stoics, who took on Heraclitus reference.

Botany

Theophrastus was considered the first scholar who has seriously engaged with tree and wood science. Historical background in his day was an acute shortage of wood in Athens after Alexander the Great had forbidden the export of strong timbers from Macedonia. Thus, the government in Athens is no longer sufficient shipbuilding timber for the expansion of its fleet available, what they ended up costing dominion over the sea trading routes of the Aegean.

In his Natural History of plants Theophrastus treated - having regard not so much on its own investigations, but more on reports from farmers, travelers, woodcutters and coal burners - particularly issues of Wood Technology and Wood use, but also the customer location. He tells of Harpalus who had tried during his time as governor of Alexander the Great into Babylon in vain, there grow Greek woody plants. For this failed endeavor includes Theophrastus:

Theophrastus also recognized quite a few of the basic rules of silviculture. So he wrote about the effects of population density:

The forest historian Walter Kremser therefore referred to Theophrastus, not only as the founder of Dendrology, but also as the first forest scientist at all.

Terms

Charles Plumier named in his honor a genus Eresia. Linnaeus later change this name in Theophrasta. It belongs to the family of Theophrastaceae. In addition, the following types are named after him: Tarucus Theophrastus, Abutilon theophrasti, Phoenix theophrasti, Hesperis theophrasti, Cerastium theophrasti, Fritillaria and Tulipa theophrasti theophrasti.

The moon crater Theophrastus is named after him.