Aristotle’s Account of the Immobility of Place: A Cold Case

Abstract At least since the Neoplatonic commentators, Aristotle’s thesis that place is immobile has been considered a serious problem for his theory of place and locomotion. This diagnosis, however, is essentially based on a single passage (212a14–21)—the famous passage on the boat moving in a river...

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Auteur principal: Quarantotto, Diana (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Brill 2022
Dans: Phronesis
Année: 2022, Volume: 67, Numéro: 4, Pages: 421-461
Sujets non-standardisés:B immobility
B locomotion
B Change
B Place
B Physics
B Aristotle
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Résumé:Abstract At least since the Neoplatonic commentators, Aristotle’s thesis that place is immobile has been considered a serious problem for his theory of place and locomotion. This diagnosis, however, is essentially based on a single passage (212a14–21)—the famous passage on the boat moving in a river—which interpreters find both central and obscure or imprecise, and which has so far resisted a literal reading. I tackle this issue by considering texts hitherto neglected by scholars and propose a new and charitable interpretation, showing the consistency of Aristotle’s thesis of the immobility of place with his general theory of change, as well as a fresh reading of ll. 212a14–21 that stays close to the text. Further, I argue that there are good reasons to believe that the interpretation I put forward is the most ancient one.
ISSN:1568-5284
Contient:Enthalten in: Phronesis
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685284-bja10059