Aristotle's Metaphysics Beta: Symposium Aristotelicum (Oxford Symposium Aristotelicum)

305 Pages·2009·1.94 MB·English

by  Michel Crubellier

ARISTOTLE: METAPHYSICS BETA
SYMPOSIUM ARISTOTELICUM
ALSO PUBLISHED IN THE SERIES
MetaphysicsLambda
editedbyMichaelFredeandDavidCharles
OnGenerationandCorruption,BookI
editedbyFransdeHaasandJaapMansfeld
Aristotle:NicomacheanEthics,BookVII
editedbyCarloNatali
Aristotle: Metaphysics
Beta
Symposium Aristotelicum
edited by
MICHEL CRUBELLIER
and
´
ANDRE LAKS
1
3
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PREFACE
The16thSymposiumAristotelicum,dedicatedtoBook´ofAristotle’sMetaphysics,
organizedbyMichelCrubellierandAndre´Laks,washeldinLillefrom20to24
August, 2002, in the premisesof theEcole Supe´rieure de Commerce de Lille.
Wewouldmostespeciallyliketothankthedirector,M.Jean PierreDebourse,
who graciously placed the premises of the Ecole at the disposal of
the Symposium during this summer period, as well as the personnel of the
Ecolewhowelcomedus.Theorganizationofthecolloquiumwouldnothave
beenpossiblewithoutthefinancialsupportplacedbytheInstitutUniversitaire
deFranceatthedisposalofitsmember,Andre´ Laks,andwithoutthelogistical
assistance of UMR Savoirs et Textes. Ce´cile Wartelle, doctoral recipient of
UniversityLille3,helpedwiththescientificorganizationoftheSymposium,for
which we deeply thank her. Our deepest thanks likewise go to Mme Vale´rie
Delay,whoorganizedforourcolleagues,andservedasguidefor,avisittothe
Muse´edel’HospiceComtesse.
Among the participants in the Symposium, whose list is reproduced on
pageviii,wasMichaelFrede,whodiedprematurelyin2007.Attheconclusion
oftheSymposium,hehadpresentedarichandextremelysuggestivesynthesis,as
washishabit,whichwasnotmeantforpublication.Theauthorsofthepresent
introduction have drawn from it certain ideas, as indicated at the relevant
points.
Michael Frede, through his recommendations and advice, had played an
essential role in the organization of the Symposia Aristotelica for a number of
yearsand,byhispresence,contributedvigorouslytomaintainingthediscussion
atthehighestlevel.There,aselsewhere,hewillbemissed.
A.L.andM.C.
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CONTENTS
16thSymposiumAristotelicum–Lille,20–24August2002
Listofparticipants viii
Introduction
MichelCrubellierandAndre´ Laks 1
1. AporiaZero(Metaphysics,´1,995a24–995b4)
Andre´ Laks 25
2. Aporiai1–2
MichelCrubellier 47
3. Aporiai3–5
FransA.J.deHaas 73
4. Aporiai6–7
EnricoBerti 105
5. Aporia8
SarahBroadie 135
6. Aporiai9–10
ChristianWildberg 151
7. Aporia11
WalterCavini 175
8. Aporia12(and12bis)
IanMueller 189
9. Aporiai13–14
StephenMenn 211
Bibliography 267
Indexlocorum 273
IndexofModernNames 289
GeneralIndex 292
16
TH SYMPOSIUM ARISTOTELICUM
20 24 2002
LILLE, – AUGUST
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Contributors
EnricoBerti,UniversityofPadua
SarahBroadie,StAndrewsUniversity
WalterCavini,UniversityofBologna
MichelCrubellier,UniversityLilleIII
FransdeHaas,UniversityofNijmegen
MichaelFrede(y),KebleCollege,Oxford
Andre´ Laks,UniversityParis Sorbonne
StephenMenn,McGillUniversity
IanMueller,UniversityofChicago
ChristianWildberg,PrincetonUniversity
Otherparticipants
KeimpeAlgra,UtrechtUniversity
DavidCharles,OrielCollege,Oxford
UrsulaCoope,UniversityCollegeLondon
JohnCooper,PrincetonUniversity
AndreaFalcon,UniversityofPadua
PaoloFait,UniversityofFlorence
MyriamHecquet Deviennne,UniversityLille III
AnnickJaulin,UniversityParis I
SeanKelsey,UniversityofCaliforniaatLosAngeles
DavidLefebvre,UniversityParis Sorbonne
GeoffreyE.R.Lloyd,DarwinCollege,Cambridge
HendrikLorenz,CorpusChristiCollege,Oxford
JaapMansfeld,UtrechtUniversity
CarloNatali,UniversityofVenice
PierrePellegrin,CNRS,Villejuif
CristinaRossitto,UniversityofPadua
DavidSedley,Christ’sCollege,Cambridge
AnnickStevens,FreeUniversityofBrussels
GiselaStriker,HarvardUniversity
JamesWarren,CorpusChristiCollege,Cambridge
Introduction*
MICHEL CRUBELLIER AND ANDRE´ LAKS
Itislikelookingintothecabinofalocomotive.Weseehandlesalllooking
moreorlessalike. (Naturally,since theyareall supposedtobehandled.)
But one is the handle of a crank which can be moved continuously (it
regulatestheopeningofavalve);anotheristhehandleofaswitch,which
hasonlytwoeffectivepositions,itiseitherofforon....1
In the first chapter of Book ´ of the Metaphysics, Aristotle, after a brief intro
duction,enumeratesfourteenorfifteendifficulties,or‘aporiai’,2withwhichhe
statesitisnecessarytoengageinordertoobtaintheknowledgeBook`terms
‘wisdom’ or ‘philosophy’.3 These difficulties, a detailed treatment of which is
given in the rest of the book (chapters 2–6) after chapter 1’s enumeration, are
presented,withoneexception,assomanywell definedquestionsannouncedin
theformofanalternative:‘Isit...,orrather...?’Weproduceherebelowalist
of these aporiai, deliberately simplifying thewording of Aristotle’s text,so that
thereadermightobtainasynopticviewofthem:4
1 Does it belong to a single science, or to several, to consider all the kinds of
cause?
2 Shouldwisdomcomprehendonlytheprinciplesofsubstances,orratherthe
universalprinciplesofdemonstrationaswell?
3 Ifwisdompertainstosubstance,isthereauniquescienceforallthetypesof
substance?
* ManythankstoJohnPalmerforhistranslation.
1 Wittgenstein,PhilosophicalInvestigationsI,§12.
2 Fifteen,ifonecountsasadistinctdifficultyaporia12bis(´6,1002b12 32),eventhoughitdoesnot
figureinchapter1anditpresentsvariouspeculiarities,particularlythatofnotbeingaclosedquestion
oftheformpoteron... ¯e(seetheanalysisofI.Mueller,belowp.207 9,andbelowinthisIntroduction,
p.8).
3 ´1,995a24 5.
4 Hereweleaveasidethequestionofthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthetreatmentofaporiai
inBook´andthatin˚1 2(seeMadigan1999,xxxviii xl).