Hankinson, R.James - Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought

Why do things happen? What makes an event occur at a particular time? What are the ultimate constituents of things? How does the structure of some organism account for or determine its function? Are the constituents of the universe there for some purpose? What is meant by chance and coincidence? Are there such things as natural laws? How are people responsible for what they do?

Although these questions vary in sophistication and scope, they are united by the fact that they are demands for explanation. They are questions that call for an elucidation of the structure of the world, for an account that will render its apparently arcane and random processes amenable to prediction and control. They are the fundamental questions in the sciences of physics, chemistry, and biology, as well as in metaphysics and ethics.