--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Aristotle's later view of the…" description: "\"“Aristotle's later view of the relationship between mathematics and Nature could not have been more different. He wanted to rescue physical science fro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/john-d-barrow-4552_aristotle_aristotle-s-later-view-of-the-relationsh_2200946.jpg" --- # Aristotle's later view of the relationship between… ![“Aristotle's later view of the relationship between mathematics and Nature could not have been more different. He wanted to rescue physical science from the mathematical stranglehold that Plato had placed upon it. He believed there to exist three completely autonomous realms of purely theoretical…” quote by John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/john-d-barrow-4552_aristotle_aristotle-s-later-view-of-the-relationsh_2200946.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/john-d-barrow-4552_aristotle_aristotle-s-later-view-of-the-relationsh_2200946.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/john-d-barrow-4552_aristotle_aristotle-s-later-view-of-the-relationsh_2200946.jpg) > ““Aristotle's later view of the relationship between mathematics and Nature could not have been more different. He wanted to rescue physical science from the mathematical stranglehold that Plato had placed upon it. He believed there to exist three completely autonomous realms of purely theoretical knowledge-metaphysics, mathematics, and physics-each possessing its own methods of explanation and accordant subject matter. But over-arching these divisions there existed a more general principle of 'homogeneity'-that like follows like-which mush always be obeyed:”” [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aristotle argued for separate realms of knowledge, insisting physics, math, and metaphysics each have distinct methods, unified by the principle of homogeneity. **In simple terms:** Separate fields follow similar patterns. Key Takeaway Recognize distinct methods but seek underlying unity. Themes philosophy science methodology Mood analytical curious Type theoretical academic When to use this quote - academic research - interdisciplinary projects - education curricula Key Concepts homogeneity autonomy explanatory frameworks Questions to Reflect On - Can we integrate methods without losing rigor? - What modern fields embody homogeneity? A Different Perspective Strict separation can hinder interdisciplinary breakthroughs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Metaphysics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysics/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Physical science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-science/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“Grosseteste influenced Roger Bacon's ideas about mathematics and Nature. Bacon wrote hundreds of pages on the subject and, indeed, no historical figure has ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/grosseteste-influenced-roger-bacon-s-ideas-about-mathematics-and/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [Thus metaphysics and mathematics are, among all the sciences that belong to reason, those in which imagination has the greatest role. I beg pardon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/thus-metaphysics-and-mathematics-are-among-all-the-sciences-that/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [Why does mathematics describe nature. That's a deeper question than most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/why-does-mathematics-describe-nature-that-s-a-deeper-question-than/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Formal mathematics is nature's way of letting you know how sloppy your mathematics is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-lamport/formal-mathematics-is-nature-s-way-of-letting-you-know-how-sloppy/) [Leslie Lamport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-lamport/) > [ “My metaphysical thinking is more in alignment with Plato rather than Aristotle's." ~R. Alan Woods \[2013\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/my-metaphysical-thinking-is-more-in-alignment-with-plato-rather-than/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [“What are the units of ontology really that I should be a part of a whole, but not be, in all my awareness, chiefly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/what-are-the-units-of-ontology-really-that-i-should-be-a-part-of-a/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [“Plato argued that the material world of visible things was but a shadow of the true reality of eternal forms. He proceeds to explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/plato-argued-that-the-material-world-of-visible-things-was-but-a/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“Aristotle draws a sharp dividing-line between the activities of the physicist and those of the mathematician. The mathematician limits his enquiry to the quantifiable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/aristotle-draws-a-sharp-dividing-line-between-the-activities-of-the/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/i-often-say-that-when-you-can-measure-what-you-are-speaking-about-and/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [The vanity of the sciences. Physical science will not console me for the ignorance of morality in the time of affliction. But the science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-vanity-of-the-sciences-physical-science-will-not-console-me-for/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Even mistaken hypotheses and theories are of use in leading to discoveries. This remark is true in all the sciences. The alchemists founded chemistry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/even-mistaken-hypotheses-and-theories-are-of-use-in-leading-to/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [The plain message physical science has for the world at large is this, that were our political and social and moral devices only as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-plain-message-physical-science-has-for-the-world-at-large-is-this/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The social sciences, like much of biology but unlike most fields of the physical sciences, have to deal with structures of essential complexity, i.e.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-social-sciences-like-much-of-biology-but-unlike-most-fields-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [If moral statements are about something, then the universe is not quite as science suggests it is, since physical theories, having said nothing about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berlinski/if-moral-statements-are-about-something-then-the-universe-is-not/) [David Berlinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berlinski/) > [The impossibility of separating the nomenclature of a science from the science itself, is owing to this, that every branch of physical science must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-lavoisier/the-impossibility-of-separating-the-nomenclature-of-a-science-from/) [Antoine Lavoisier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-lavoisier/) ## More by John D. Barrow > [“One of Nature's deep secrets is the fact that the outcomes of the laws of Nature do not have to possess the same symmetries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/one-of-nature-s-deep-secrets-is-the-fact-that-the-outcomes-of-the/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“The effect of the 'time becomes space' proposal is that there is no definite moment or point of creation. In more conventional quantum mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/the-effect-of-the-time-becomes-space-proposal-is-that-there-is-no/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“Humans are distinguished further by the highly effective way in which they have pooled the individual intelligence of single individuals to produce a collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/humans-are-distinguished-further-by-the-highly-effective-way-in-which/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [We can predict the present without having to know everything about the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/we-can-predict-the-present-without-having-to-know-everything-about/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [All our surest statements about the nature of the world are mathematical statements, yet we do not know what mathematics "is"... and so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/all-our-surest-statements-about-the-nature-of-the-world-are/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“If the deep logic of what determines the value of the fine-structure constant also played a significant role in our understanding of all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/if-the-deep-logic-of-what-determines-the-value-of-the-fine-structure/) [John D. 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Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“As we look way back into the first instants of the Big Bang, we find the quantum world that we described in Chapter 3.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/as-we-look-way-back-into-the-first-instants-of-the-big-bang-we-find/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“The inclusion of just one contradiction (like 0 = 1) in an axiomatic system allows any statement about the objects in the system to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/the-inclusion-of-just-one-contradiction-like-0-1-in-an-axiomatic/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [Once upon a time when there was no time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/once-upon-a-time-when-there-was-no-time/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“Life as we know, and partially understand it, is a classical example of what can occur when a sufficient level of complexity is attained.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/life-as-we-know-and-partially-understand-it-is-a-classical-example-of/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“There is no formula that can deliver all truth, all harmony, all simplicity. No Theory of Everything can ever provide total insight. For, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/there-is-no-formula-that-can-deliver-all-truth-all-harmony-all/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [History is full of people who thought they were right -- absolutely right, completely right, without a shadow of a doubt. And because history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/history-is-full-of-people-who-thought-they-were-right-absolutely/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) [Explore all 109 John D. Barrow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) ## More Aristotle quotes > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. 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Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The ancient Greek philosophers were all natural-born dialecticians and Aristotle, the most encyclopaedic intellect among them, had even already analysed the most essential forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/the-ancient-greek-philosophers-were-all-natural-born-dialecticians/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. { His teacher was the legendary philosopher Aristotle }”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-am-indebted-to-my-father-for-living-but-to-my-teacher-for-living/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We are what we repeatedly do. —Aristotle”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-navarro/we-are-what-we-repeatedly-do-aristotle/) [Joe Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-navarro/) > [“When the point of education becomes the production of credentials rather than the cultivation of knowledge, it forfeits the motive recognized by Aristotle: "All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-b-crawford/when-the-point-of-education-becomes-the-production-of-credentials/) [Matthew B. Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-b-crawford/) > [The intimate and the infinite are tangled together in this incandescent book, lit by Aristotle’s bright spark of a daughter. Lucid even in nightmare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-endicott/the-intimate-and-the-infinite-are-tangled-together-in-this/) [Marina Endicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-endicott/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“I have this idea that the reason we have dreams is that we're thinking about things that we don't know we're thinking about-and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-have-this-idea-that-the-reason-we-have-dreams-is-that-we-re/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [The science of the church is neglected for the study of geometry, and they lose sight of Heaven while they are employed in measuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-science-of-the-church-is-neglected-for-the-study-of-geometry-and/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“I guess I was a mystery even to myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-guess-i-was-a-mystery-even-to-myself/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“The void is 'not-being,' and no part of 'what is' is a 'not-being,'; for what 'is' in the strict sense of the term is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-void-is-not-being-and-no-part-of-what-is-is-a-not-being-for-what/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) Browse all 260 Aristotle quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Aristotle's later view of the relationship between mathematics and Nature could not have been more different. 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