Aristotle was the first person to study biology systematically on the basis of empirical observation. What might have inspired him to do something so unprecedented? What was the status of empirical observation in his period?
Additional question: I've read that Aristotle wrote in one of his books that a fly has eight legs, and nobody cared to verify this until Renessance. However I could not find this in books by Aristotle I could find. Is it a true story?