Aristotle on Animal Self-motion and the Eternity of the Universe: A Reading of Physics 8.6 (259b1-20)

In a well-known passage in Physics 8.6, in order to argue for the eternity of the universe, Aristotle claims that animal is a self-mover, the cause of its motion or change being external. This claim clashes against a series of fundamental presumpositions in Aristotle's natural philosophy. Accor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFu dan xue bao. She hui ke xue ban no. 5; pp. 45 - 53
Main Author Wang, Wei
Format Journal Article
LanguageChinese
Published Shanghai Fudan Daxue 01.01.2021
Subjects
Animals
Interpreters
Motion
Philosophers
Universe
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Summary:In a well-known passage in Physics 8.6, in order to argue for the eternity of the universe, Aristotle claims that animal is a self-mover, the cause of its motion or change being external. This claim clashes against a series of fundamental presumpositions in Aristotle's natural philosophy. According to his distinction between natural and artificial objects, the cause of motion or change of a natural object is its internal nature, and for living beings, this nature is their soul. If this claims is true, then animal would not be natural and it would not have a soul. This not only goes against the philosophical and scientific common-sense of the day, but also clashes with a number of Aristotle's pronounced claims. Problematic though the claim is, it is fundamental to Aristotle's argument for the eternity of the universe in Physics 8.6. Past interpreters either abandon the eternity argument in Physics 8. 6 or abandon the concept of soul in the strict sense, so no one has ever succeeded in reconciling the two horns
ISSN:0257-0289