How do the properties of heat and fire work in Aristotelian (four elements) cosmology?

Alright, my understanding of both modern physics and classical cosmology is a little shaky, so I hope this question is neither unclear nor foolish.

Here goes: In Aristotelian cosmology all matter is made up of the same four elements, and more complex substances are some mixture of them. Each of the four elements has certain properties, which place them in natural opposition to another element. Fire, for example, is hot and dry, contra water, which is cool and wet.

But there's a problem there: Heat doesn't behave like it's a property of a certain kind of matter. It transfers, increases and decreases, changes the properties of objects, etc.

Presumably there is some kind of ancient rationale for this ... or failing that one might be invented. So my question is, how can a greek-inspired four elements cosmology justify the way that heat behaves?

posted over 7 years ago

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