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Aristotle's Physics PROPOSAL : Aristotle’s Physics , A Critical Guide EditedbyMariskaLeunissen,TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill A. Project description The importance of Aristotle’s Physics : Throughout his life, Aristotle was deeply committed to the study of natural phenomena: about one third of the surviving Corpus Aristotelicum investigatesandexplainsthemotionsandattributesofthingsthathaveanature, that is, of things that have an internal principle of change and rest. The Physics – an intellectual masterpiece in itself and one of the mostlywidely readAristotelian treatises – forms Aristotle’s most fundamental treatise in his studies of natural philosophy. In this treatise,Aristotleinvestigatestheprinciplesandcausesofallnaturalthingsingeneral,and,in thecourseofdoingso,definesalargenumberofkeyconceptsofhisnaturalphilosophy, suchasmotionandchange,spaceandtime,matterandform,causalexplanation,luckand spontaneity, teleology and necessity. In addition, Aristotle specifies in the Physics the methodologicalguidelinesforhowoneshouldstudynatureifonewantstogainscientific knowledgeofit,whichincludesthefamousbutstillill-understoodrecommendationtostart fromthingsthatare“moreknownandclearertous”and towork fromthere towhat is “moreknownandclearerbynature”.Inthisway,the Physics laysoutAristotle’sconceptual apparatus and methodological framework for all of his natural philosophy, including his psychology,biology,andotherinquiriesintothemorespecificandmorecomplexsegments ofthenaturalworldpreservedinAristotle’sremainingnaturaltreatises. The Physics isnotjustrelevantforAristotle’snaturalphilosophy,however;sincetheobjects ofmetaphysicsdonot,forthemostpart,existindependentlyoftheobjectsofphysicsand canthusonlybestudiedthroughthose,thescienceofmetaphysicsoftenhastorelyonthe sameconcepts,definitions,andapproachesasarepresentedinthe Physics. The purpose of this volume: Becauseofthefoundationalroleofthe Physics forAristotle’s naturalphilosophyandmetaphysics,interestinthePhysics amongscholarsofAristotle(and ofancientphilosophymoregenerally)hasbeenconsistently high. Somewhat surprisingly, eventhoughthe Physics hasinspiredarichscholarlyliteratureintheformofbotharticlesand monographs,thereexistsonlyonevolumeofcollectedpapersthatfocusesexclusivelyonthe Physics :L.Judson(1991), Aristotle’s Physics, A Collection of Essays (Oxford:ClarendonPress). However, since the publication of this volume the field of Aristotle-studies has changed considerably,bothintermsofitsunderstandingofkeyconceptsinAristotle’sphilosophy and in terms of its preferred methods for gaining such understanding. It is time for a reassessment. Thepaperscommissionedforthisproposedvolumeaimtomakeoptimaluseofthesenew insightsandapproaches,andtherebytopushforwardthescholarshiponAristotle’s Physics. ThefourteenpapersonAristotle’s Physics inthisvolumeareexpectedtoengagewiththese changedperspectivesonAristotle inatleastoneofthefollowingthreeways: 1 (1) Reassessing the key concepts of Aristotle’s natural philosophy. First, some of the papers will provide a challenge to existing interpretations of someof the key concepts of Aristotle’s Physics (such as nature, cause, art, chance, and motion) and argue for alternative understandings . Thesepapersdonotonlydrawfromthelatestresearchinthefield,butalso exhibitagreatersensitivitytowardstherichnessandcomplexityofAristotelianconceptsas wellastowardstheextenttowhichAristotlebuildsonandreshapeshisconceptsindifferent explanatory contexts. Instead of just studying the main concepts of Aristotle’s natural philosophy in the immediate context in which they are first introduced in the Physics and tryingtoprovideaunifiedaccountoftheirdefinitionsandroles,thepaperspresentedinthis volumealsopayattentiontosomeofthe(methodologically)laterusestowhichtheconcepts are put in other (natural) treatises, provide explanations of why these other uses require conceptual changes, and answer the meta-question aboutwhyAristotle needs the specific understandingsof,forinstance,hisconceptsofnatureandcauseforhisnaturalphilosophy asawhole. (2) Reconstructing Aristotle’s methods for the study of nature. Second,someofthepaperswilltryto provideareconstructionofthemethodsAristotleuses and/or describes for the study of nature.ScholarsworkingonAristotlehavebecomeincreasinglyinterestedintherelationship betweenAristotle’s‘geometric-style’theoryofscientificdemonstrationandinvestigationas presentedinthe Posterior Analytics andhispracticeinthenaturaltreatises,andalthoughmuch workhasbeendoneonthemethodologicalconnectionsbetweenthe Posterior Analytics and Aristotle’sbiology (i.e., his studyof living nature),the connectionswithhis Physics remain largelyunexploredterritory.Thepapersinthisvolumeaimtoworktowardsclosingthisgap in the existing scholarship by offering interpretations of (a) what it means according to Aristotletoinvestigatethings physikôs – i.e.,inthemannerofanaturalscientist;(b)howthis method relates to other methods available to a philosopher (such as semantic analysis or dialectic)aswellastothescientificmethodoutlinedinthe Posterior Analytics ;and(c)how methodologicalconcernsstemmingfromthe Posterior Analytics drivetheinvestigationsinthe Physics . (3) Determining the boundaries of Aristotle’s natural philosophy. Third, some papers will concern themselves with the boundaries (and the extent to which these boundaries are crossed) betweenAristotle’snaturalphilosophyandhismetaphysics.Inrecentyears,therehasbeena growing awareness among scholars of Aristotle that Aristotle’s full views can rarely be pluckedoutofsinglepassages,orevensingletreatises.Thishasledtomodificationsinhow webelieveoneshouldconductconceptualanalysisinAristotle(e.g.,astakingintoaccount the different uses to which concepts are put in differentpartsofascience,asdescribed under item number 1 above), but it has also highlighted problems concerning Aristotle’s division of the sciences and his requirement that principles that belong properly to one sciencecannotbeusedinthegenerationofknowledgeinanotherscience(unlessthetwo sciencesaresubordinatedtoeachother).Forthisvolume,theissueconcerningtherelation betweenthedifferentsciencesarisesmostprominentlywithregardtoAristotle’sconceptof the Unmoved (or Prime) Mover – the origin of all motion in the universe – which he 2 introducesin Physics VIII.SincethisUnmovedMoverisadivinebeingthatispureformand iswithoutmatter,itistechnicallyspeakingnotpartofthephysicalworld,butratherbelongs toAristotle’s‘firstphilosophy’ormetaphysics.Thepapersinthisvolumeexaminetheways in which Physics VIII divides up the science of nature and his metaphysics, and how his account in the Physics relates to a similar, but also importantly different discussion of unmovedmoversin Metaphysics XII. B. Audience Theproposedvolumeaimstobringtogethercutting-edgeresearchpapers,writtenbysome ofthebestscholarscurrentlyworkingonAristotle’snaturalscience,andtherebytoproduce avolumethatreflectstherecentdevelopmentsinthefieldbutalsoopensupnewavenuesof inquiry. The primary audience for this volume will be scholars and advanced graduate studentsinancientphilosophy.Thevolumewillbeanessentialreadingandkeyresourcefor allthoseworkingonAristotle.However,thevolumewillappealmorebroadlytoscholars workinginancientphilosophyaswellastothoseworkinginthehistoryandphilosophyof (natural)science,giventhecentralityofthenotions and methods discussed in Aristotle’s Physics for his entire philosophy and their influence on the development of natural philosophyinlaterAntiquity(includingtheNeo-platonicperiod)andintheEarlyModern period. C. Timetable The papers commissioned for this volume are all original and have not been published elsewhere. Authors will submit the first complete drafts of their papers to the editor by March15,2013,afterwhichtheywillreceivecomments.Thedraftswillberevisedduring thesummerof2013,andthecompletemanuscriptwillbesubmittedtoCUPforreviewno laterthanSeptember1 st ,2013.Themanuscriptshouldbereadyfortheproductionprocess sometimeduringthefallof2013. D. Information about the editor and the contributing authors MariskaLeunissen,theproposededitorforthisvolume,iscurrentlyassistantprofessorof philosophyattheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill.Fromfall2007tospring2011 she was assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and from fall 2010 to spring2011sheheldaresidentialfellowshipattheHarvardUniversity’sCenterforHellenic studiesinWashington,D.C.Sheistheauthorof Explanation and Teleology in Aristotle’s Science of Nature (CUP2010;oneofthreefinalistsforthe Journal of the History of Philosophy 2011book prize),co-editorof Interpreting Aristotle’s PosteriorAnalytics in Late Antiquity and Beyond (Brill, Leiden2010),andhaswrittenseveralarticlesonAristotle’stheoryofdemonstration,natural science,andcharacter. 3 Thescholarswhohaveagreedtocontributetothisvolumewereallselectedonthebasisof theirindividualexpertiseinthefieldofAristotle’snaturalscience.All–includingthemore juniorscholars–havepublishedpreviouslyonAristotle’snaturalscience,eitherintheform ofarticlesbutalsoofmonographsoreditedvolumes.Asagroup,theyrepresentthecurrent diversity in Aristotelian scholarship in terms of their distribution in gender, geographical locationoftheirhome-institution,nationality,andrank. Thisisthefulllistofcontributorstothevolume: James Allen isProfessorofAncientGreekandRomanPhilosophyattheUniversityof Pittsburgh,U.S.A. Robert Bolton isProfessorofPhilosophyatRutgers–TheStateUniversityofNewJersey, U.S.A David Charles isColinPrestigeFellowandResearchProfessorinPhilosophyatOriel College,OxfordUniversity,U.K. Ursula Coope isProfessorofAncientPhilosophyandFellowofCorpusChristiCollege,
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