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Guessanym
Classical element

element

Depth
4
Use as Polynym Mark Unseen (✓)
Keyword:   four
Context:   Aristotle added a fifth element, aether (αἰθήρ aither), as the quintessence, reasoning that whereas fire, earth, air, and water were earthly and corruptible, since no changes had been perceived in the heavenly regions, the stars cannot be made out of any of the four elements but must be made of a different, unchangeable, heavenly substance.
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    • Aristotle added a fifth element aether αἰθήρ aither as the quintessence reasoning that whereas fire earth air and water were earthly and corruptible since no changes had been perceived in the heavenly regions the stars cannot be made out of any of the four elements but must be made of a different unchangeable heavenly substance
    • Aristotle himself did not use the term aether for the fifth element and strongly criticised the pre-Socratics for associating the term with fire
    • Of the fifth Platonic solid the dodecahedron Plato obscurely remarked "the god used [it] for arranging the constellations on the whole heaven"
    • Aristotle added a fifth element aither aether in Latin "ether" in English and postulated that the heavens were made of this element but he had no interest in matching it with Plato's fifth solid
Full context:   Aristotle added a fifth element, aether (αἰθήρ aither), as the quintessence, reasoning that whereas fire, earth, air, and water were earthly and corruptible, since no changes had been perceived in the heavenly regions, the stars cannot be made out of any of the four elements but must be made of a different, unchangeable, heavenly substance. It had previously been believed by pre-Socratics such as Empedocles and Anaxagoras that aether, the name applied to the material of heavenly bodies, was a form of fire. Aristotle himself did not use the term aether for the fifth element, and strongly criticised the pre-Socratics for associating the term with fire. He preferred a number of other terms indicating eternal movement, thus emphasising the evidence for his discovery of a new element. These five elements have been associated since Plato's Timaeus with the five platonic solids. Earth was associated with the cube, air with the octahedron, water with the icosahedron, and fire with the tetrahedron. Of the fifth Platonic solid, the dodecahedron, Plato obscurely remarked, "...the god used [it] for arranging the constellations on the whole heaven". Aristotle added a fifth element, aither (aether in Latin, "ether" in English) and postulated that the heavens were made of this element, but he had no interest in matching it with Plato's fifth solid.
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Polynym
Classical element

element

Source
Ancient Greeks
Area
Philosophy
Mode
type
Depth
4
User
scotty
Polynym
Five elements (Japanese philosophy)

element

Source
Buddhism
Area
Philosophy
Mode
type
Depth
5
User
scotty
Polynym
Wu Xing

element

Source
Wu Xing
Area
Philosophy
Mode
type
Depth
5
User
scotty
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