Poetics (Penguin Classics)

‘All human beings by nature desire knowledge.’ This, the opening sentence of the Metaphysics (980aI), states a fundamental premise of Aristotle’s understanding of what it is to be human. He points out as evidence for his claim the pleasure we take in looking at things and assimilating information through our senses. Sensation is of course shared with many other animals, and the accretion of sensation through memory into experience is shared with some. But humans are unique in their capacity to derive universal judgements from their experiences. Animals act by instinct or acquired habit, but humans are capable of acting from understanding: they know (as a dog might know) that this is the thing to do in a certain situation, but they may also understand (as a dog cannot) why it is the thing to do. This is what Aristotle calls in Greek tekhnê; the word is conventionally translated as ‘craft’, ‘skill’ or ‘art’, but Aristotle defines tekhnê as a productive capacity informed by an understanding of its intrinsic rationale (cf. Nicomachean Ethics, 1140a20f,). For Aristotle, the evolution of human culture is in large part the evolution of tekhnê. The first arts which human beings developed were those concerned with producing the necessities of their existence. Then came recreational arts - those which, while not necessary, enhance the quality of human life. In due course, activities arose which simply satisfy the desire to know (Aristotle’s example is mathematics). Ultimately, philosophy emerged. Philosophy is rooted in the basic human instinct to seek knowledge: the world puzzles us and arouses our sense of wonder, and so prompts us to look for explanations. Philosophy is therefore the sophisticated descendant of primitive myth-making responses to an astonishing world.

Malcolm Heath, Poetics (Penguin Classics), 1996.