Philosophy and Rhetoric, Vol. 45, No. 3, 2012 Copyright © 2012 he Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA here is Beauty Here, Too: Aristotle’s Rhetoric for Science John Poulakos and Nathan Crick abstract In Aristotle’s biological treatise, On the Parts of Animals, one inds a rare and unex- pected burst of rhetorical eloquence. While justifying the study of “less valued animals,” he erupts into praise for the study of all natural phenomena and con- demns the small-mindedness of those who trivialize its worth. Without equal in Aristotle’s remaining works for its rhetorical quality, it reveals the otherwise cool- headed researcher as a passionate seeker of truth and an unabashed lover of natural beauty. For Aristotle, rhetoric not only discloses the truth (aletheia) of appearances by refuting counterarguments and defending one’s claims within agonistic forums; rhetoric also defends and advances whole ields of study on the promise on wonder (thaumazein). By examining Aristotle’s example in practice, this article seeks to elucidate a notion of the rhetoric for inquiry that calls lovers of wisdom to the empirical study of nature. We must avoid a childish distaste for examining the less valued animals. For in all natural things there is something wonderful. And just as Heraclitus is said to have spoken to the visitors, who were wanting to meet him but stopped as they were approaching when they saw him warming himself at the oven—he kept telling them to come in and not worry, “for there are gods here too”—so we should approach the inquiry about each animal without aver- sion, knowing that in all of them there is something natural and beautiful. For the non-random, the for-something’s sake, is present in the works of nature most of all, and the end for which they PR 45.3_04_PoulakosCrick.indd 295 04/07/12 10:02 PM