Physis

Physis (Greek: φύσις) is a Greek theological, philosophical, and scientific term usually translated into English as "nature".

"Because those who use the term mean to say that nature is the first creative power; but if the soul turns out to be the primeval element, and not fire or air, then in the truest sense and beyond other things the soul may be said to exist by nature; and this would be true if you proved that the soul is older than the body, but not otherwise."

Aristotle sought out the definition of "physis" to prove that there was more than one definition of "physis", and more than one way to interpret nature. "Though Aristotle retains the ancient sense of "physis" as growth, he insists that an adequate definition of "physis" requires the different perspectives of the four causes (aitia): material, efficient, formal, and final." Aristotle believed that nature itself contained its own source of matter (material), power/motion (efficiency), form, and end (final). A unique feature about Aristotle's definition of "physis" was his relationship between art and nature. Aristotle said that "physis" (nature) is dependent on techne (art). "The critical distinction between art and nature concerns their different efficient causes: nature is its own source of motion, whereas techne always requires a source of motion outside itself." What Aristotle was trying to bring to light, was that art does not contain within itself its form or source of motion. Consider the process of an acorn becoming an oak tree. This is a natural process that has its own driving force behind it. There is no external force pushing this acorn to its final state, rather it is progressively developing towards one specific end (telos).

Homer uses the word physis just once – in the Odyssey, referring to the intrinsic way of growth of a particular species of plant. This is its earliest known occurrence.

Philosophical use begins very early in pre-Socratic writings, where the meanings fit well with current senses of the English word nature. In the Sophist tradition, the term stood in opposition to (νόμος), "law" or "custom", in the debate on which parts of human existence are natural, and which are due to convention. This is the basis of today's classic biological debate of "nature vs. nurture". would refer to "nurture", and physis would correlate to "nature". The Greeks believed "physis" and "" correlated to many aspects of science and philosophy, such as the gender debate. The Greeks would refer to law, order, and rationalism as "". "Women in general tend to be (in the view of Greek man) on the side of physis, while men are generally on the side of : men can control themselves while women become hysterical (the word is Greek and it means to be taken over by your uterus). Men make and obey laws, but women do what comes naturally (see Phaedra or Medea)." could also refer to the practices of mathematics, music, and architecture, which all follow strict sets of rules and attempt to order nature (see "nomos"). "Architecture brings space under control, music brings noise under control, and mathematics brings the infinite under control. For this reason, Greek men liked all three of these arts very much."

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