Abstract Distinctively, Aristotle denies that there is a univocal definition of life, but he still offers an account of how the many different ways of being alive are related. In particular, more advanced forms of life potentially contain less advanced forms of life in them. In this paper, I defend this interpretation of Aristotle against other recent interpreters. I also set out Aristotle's account of the most general life-activity – nutrition – and show how his account doesn't fall prey to the objection that it is parochial.
Benjamin Robert Koons (Wed,) studied this question.