Minor Biological Works (Parva Naturalia)

by Aristotle · Parva Naturalia

Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only

Written
c. 350 BCE
Language
Greek
Length
Short · 100 ppunder 120 pages
Difficulty
Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader

We recommendThe Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 1, translated by Jonathan Barnes (ed.)Princeton University Press, 1984The revised Oxford translation of all the short treatises together, following On the Soul.

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A set of short treatises that follow On the Soul and study functions shared by soul and body. They cover the objects of the senses, memory and recollection, sleep and waking, dreams and whether they foretell anything, the causes of long and short life, youth and old age, life and death, and breathing. Together they are Aristotle's physiology and his most concrete account of how perception, memory and life depend on the body.

No reading guide yet

The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Minor Biological Works (Parva Naturalia) are verified against each program's published list.

What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.

Browse the 48 works that do have a guide →

Parva Naturalia, Parva Naturalia, On Sense and the Sensible, On Memory and Reminiscence, On Sleep, On Dreams, On Prophecy in Sleep, On Length and Shortness of Life, On Youth and Old Age, On Respiration, memory, recollection, sleep, dreams, divination, respiration, old age, senses, Aristoteles, Ἀριστοτέλης, The Philosopher