Why should I read Aristotle?

[catholictiger]

My underlying theme in this thread is to ask why study purely speculative theories like Aristote’s metaphysics in light of modern science. Not to take any sides, but why would metaphysics be worthy of study when we have physics?

And Aristotle was obviously wrong about linearity and gravity and inertia and the geocentric universe.

How could teleological theories still be relevant today?

Also, I’ve already read much of Plato. I’ve also read Augustine and Descartes and a little medieval Neoplatonism.

Modern Science has nothing to do with science. Science can do nothing to prove or disprove many of the theories in metaphysics. Science has nothing to say about these issues: the nature of prime matter, the necessary relationship between matter and form, what the essence of a being is, what is the nature of existence in beings, what is the nature of existence in the creator, what is the nature of evil the nature of good, does beauty have actual existence, how about love, and if the soul is immoral how can it still exist after it is separated from the body. (i have not exhausted the issues in metaphysics) These issues can not be handled by modern science and also if you reject metaphysics there are many issues that you will have to reject that are preached definitively by the Church and some things in divine revelation. If you reduce all things to observable realities, or do something like Kant Hume or Descartes did, question our perception of the reality of the world outside of us, you through into doubt the idea of a soul, the idea of existence, along with many other things.

Metaphysics is very essential to the faith and philosophers who question many of the ideas of metaphysics and try and throw out metaphysics put into question many of the truths of the faith.