Written Interview by Brady Baylis, 02/17/23

"Parmenides and Heraclitus’ Influence on Aristotle’s Definitions of Nature"

This paper connects the philosophy of Parmenides and Heraclitus to Aristotle, which Mininni uses to explain Aristotle’s “Golden Mean”. This paper then argues that Aristotle uses his “Golden Mean” beyond the philosophy of ethics, including within the principles of motion and being allow a thing to exist, and thus are both necessary characteristics to define the Nature of something.

Philosophy is a unique discipline because deep insights and clever wisdom comes from intimate conversations in classrooms, coffee shops and dorms. All humans are philosophers because all humans ponder existence, nature, and the divine. Academic philosophy, however, can become overwhelming when one is faced with some of the greatest thinkers in history.

Isabella Minnini, a senior English major and Politics Pre-Law minor, did not have much experience in philosophy. “I actually didn’t like philosophy at all,” Mininni said. Dr. Wilson’s Honors Philosophy 203, however, changed her opinion.  In this class on nature and human nature, she began to engage with ancient philosophers and found Aristotle’s definitions of human nature captivating. “Don't be discouraged if you don't get things immediately,” Mininni writes, “Take a chance…This draft was my third go-around”. 

Minnini applied her English skills to help make often confusing philosophy more understanding. “...As an English major you look for connections for things, Mininni explained, so what I did was to take Aristotle’s ten definitions of nature and connect them to other philosophers who had more simplistic idea.” For her paper, she used Herocilitus’s focus on motion and Parmenides’s focus on being to explain Aristotle’s more complex definitions of Nature, which drew on both of them.

Philosophy is a daunting topic. We all engage in informal philosophy on a daily basis, but academic philosophy can seem overwhelming and something suited only for certain students. Inventio will be publishing only one philosophy paper this edition, which was not written by a philosophy major or minor. “Even having a paper accepted in something that I struggled in meant a lot,” Mininni reflected. “Being able to simplify something we had to take so many classes in felt like an accomplishment to me.”

Read Isabella’s piece, "Parmenides and Heraclitus’ Influence on Aristotle’s Definitions of Nature", in the upcoming issue of Inventio’s Volume 8!