The Concept of Genesis (γένεσις) in Aristotle’s Philosophy and the Importance of Explaining it

In this article, the concept of genesis in Aristotle’s writings has been investigated both from the literal and from the terminological point of view, and the importance of its distinction from the revelational understanding and the Abrahamic religions has been minded. With explaining this concept, the importance of terms and concepts such as ‘creation’ and ‘generation’ gets evident, and the question arises as follows: ‘What can be the meaning of the concept of genesis, with its important role in various languages, according to Aristotelian and Greek understanding? Is this concept not closer to the notion in the revelational religions and creation?’ Therefore, in this article, we have studied and analyzed the term ‘genesis’ in three books written by Aristotle entitled physics, metaphysics, and On Generation and Corruption in order to have a better explanation of the distinction between this concept and the conventional religious understanding of concepts such as genesis and creation. With paying attention to Aristotle’s writings in this regard, we will find out that although Aristotle has approached the concept of ‘creation from naught’ in revelational religion with his idea of primal matter, this intellectual difference between Aristotelian and philosophical thought and religious thought is going on.