New Perspectives on Aristotle’s De caelo

337 Pages·2009·5.52 MB·English

by  Alan C. Bowen

De caelo
New Perspectives on Aristotle’s
Philosophia Antiqua
A Series of Studies on Ancient Philosophy
PreviousEditors
J.H. Waszink†
W.J. Verdenius†
J.C.M. Van Winden
Editedby
K.A. Algra
F.A.J. De Haas
J. Mansfeld
C.J. Rowe
D.T. Runia
Ch. Wildberg
VOLUME117
New Perspectives
De caelo
on Aristotle’s
Editedby
Alan C. Bowen and Christian Wildberg
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2009
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
NewperspectivesonAristotle'sDecaelo/editedbyAlanC.BowenandChristianWildberg.
p.cm.–(Philosophiaantiqua;v.117)
ISBN978-90-04-17376-7(hardback:alk.paper)
1.Aristotle.Decaelo.2.Astronomy,Greek.3.Cosmology.I.Bowen,AlanC.II.Wildberg,
Christian.
QB41.A73N492009
520–dc22
2009029137
ISSN: 0079-1687
ISBN: 9789004173767
Copyright2009byKoninklijkeBrillNV,Leiden,TheNetherlands.
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CONTENTS
Preface ................................................................. vii
Acknowledgements.................................................... ix
Introduction ........................................................... 1
FromPlato’sTimaeustoAristotle’sDecaelo:TheCaseofthe
MissingWorldSoul................................................. 9
ThomasK.Johansen
ThePossibilitiesofBeingandNot-BeinginDecaelo.– ....... 29
SarahBroadie
TwoStandardsforInquiryinAristotle’sDecaelo..................... 51
RobertBolton(RutgersUniversity)
Natural,Unnatural,andPreternaturalMotions:Contrarietyand
theArgumentfortheElementsinDecaelo.– ................. 83
R.J.Hankinson
WhyDoestheEarthMovetotheCenter?AnExaminationof
SomeExplanatoryStrategiesinAristotle’sCosmology............ 119
MohanMatthen
TheTheoryoftheElementsinDecaeloand...................... 139
MaryLouiseGill
TheArgumentfortheSphericityoftheUniverseinAristotle’sDe
caelo:AstronomyandPhysics ...................................... 163
PierrePellegrin
Decaelo.andItsDebttotheDeincessuanimalium ............... 187
JamesG.Lennox
WhyStarsHaveNoFeet:ExplanationandTeleologyinAristotle’s
Cosmology.......................................................... 215
MariskaE.M.P.J.Leunissen
vi contents
TheAstrologizationoftheAristotelianCosmos:Celestial
InfluencesontheSublunarWorldinAristotle,Alexanderof
Aphrodisias,andAverroes.......................................... 239
GadFreudenthal
Aristotle’sDecaelo:ABibliography ................................... 283
Indices
IndexofPassagesCited................................................ 299
IndexofSubjects....................................................... 313
IndexofModernAuthors ............................................. 319
IndexofAncientandMedievalAuthors.............................. 321
PREFACE
This volume is the first collection of scholarly articles in any modern
languagedevotedtoAristotle’sDecaelo.Itgrewoutofseriesofworkshops
heldatPrinceton,Cambridge,andParisinthelate’s.Theprojectwas
oneofinternationalcollaboration;andinouropinion,thelevelofinsight
and sophistication reached could not have been attained by any single
scholar.Themanyadvantagesofthiscollaborativeeffortare,webelieve,
palpable in this collection; and we hope that this volume will prove an
effectivetoolforteachingandscholarship.SinceAristotle’sDecaelohad
a major influence on cosmological thinking until the time of Galileo
and Kepler and helped to shape the way in which Western civilization
imagineditsnaturalenvironmentandplaceatthecenteroftheuniverse,
familiaritywiththemaindoctrinesoftheDecaeloisaprerequisiteforan
understandingofmuchofthethoughtandcultureofAntiquityandthe
MiddleAges.
AlanC.Bowen
ChristianWildberg
Princeton,NJ
March

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
WeareverypleasedtoacknowledgemostgratefullyVeronicaShiforher
assistance and Andrea Falcon for his generous advice in compiling the
extensivebibliographythatsupplementsthisvolume.Theentriesonthe
Arabic tradition have been most kindly supplied by Gerhard Endress,
who is currently editing the numerous Arabic versions of the De caelo.
WealsothankHenrykJaronowskiandThuTafortheirhelpincompiling
theindices.