Abstract

Strato of Lampsacus, Aristotle's second successor as head of the Lyceum, wrote during a seminal period of Greek science and brought an original and critical approach to natural philosophy, yet we know little about him. His ideas have been unreasonably neglected. In ancient times his rejection of teleological explanation evoked the scorn of commentators; in modern times understanding of his work has been hampered by the belief that he focused on scientific research to the exclusion of metaphysics. Until recently interpreters believed that Strato abandoned Aristotelian natural philosophy altogether. This view is no longer tenable: the work of reconstructing Strato's views into a consistent and systematic whole remains to be done. ;The ancient reports concerning Strato's ideas seldom record his reasoning: this needs to be worked out. The tendency of earlier scholars to look for 'influences' in understanding the sources for philosophical ideas is plainly unsatisfactory. To understand the thought of an investigative natural philosopher, it is much more important to search for new arguments and new discoveries that would motivate revisions of Aristotle's views. Previous scholars often overlooked the importance of studying other Peripatetics, especially Strato's teacher Theophrastus, for clues about the criticisms of Aristotle current among his immediate followers. Especially on the limits of teleological explanation, the work of his teacher is crucial to understanding Strato's views. ;On other issues, Strato's ideas are best understood against the background of research outside the Lyceum. The interest in attraction and the mysterious 'power of the void' is common to all natural philosophers. Advances in third century geometrical optics are important to reconstructing Strato's ideas on light and vision. Strato's psychological views must be understood against the background of the anatomical advances taking place in Alexandria, especially the discovery of the nervous system. Far from a positivist scornful of metaphysics, Strato turns out to have articulated a metaphysical principle of persistence, formulating one of the foundational assumptions of the attempt to study the natural world on its own terms