Basic Components of Nature Guide

In the tradition of Plato and Empedocles before him, Aristotle argued that there were four fundamental elements, earth, air, fire, water. It is difficult for us to fully understand what this meant as today we think about matter in very different terms. In Aristotle's system there was no such thing as void space. All space was filled with some combination of these elements.

Classical elements refer to the four fundamental substances—air, earth, fire, and water—believed by ancient Greek philosophers to compose everything in the universe. This concept was first proposed by Empedocles in the fifth century B.C., who suggested that these elements were the foundational components of all matter, with different proportions shaping the characteristics of various entities. Aristotle later refined this idea, introducing a fifth element, aether, which was thought to make up the heavens and represented a perfect, unchanging substance.

From ancient civilizations to modern day, the symbols and colors of the four elements have represented the different aspects of nature and the forces of energy in the world. The idea that these four elements—Earth, Water, Air, and Fire—made up all matter was the cornerstone of philosophy, science, and medicine for two-thousand years.

"The four spheres of the Earth are: the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. The biosphere includes all living life on Earth: animal, plant, fungi, protist and monera. All four spheres must work in harmony to allow for the balance of life to succeed on Earth. Any threat to one sphere, will have drastic effects on the others."