Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple device of asking Mrs. Aristotle to keep her mouth open while he counted. p. 135.

Summary

This quote highlights a humorous critique of Aristotle's approach to acquiring knowledge. It suggests that Aristotle's claim that women have fewer teeth than men could have been easily tested by simply asking his wife to open her mouth so he could count. The implication is that Aristotle overlooked a practical and straightforward method of testing his theory, leading to an erroneous conclusion. This quote encourages a more empirical and observational approach to acquiring knowledge, rather than relying solely on theoretical speculation.