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Aristotle's Account of Time: a Moderate Realism

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Aristotle's Account of Time: a Moderate Realism Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 11-24-2020 10:00 AM Aristotle's Account of Time: A Moderate Realism Pierre-Luc Boudreault, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Thorp, John, The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Philosophy © Pierre-Luc Boudreault 2020 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the History of Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Boudreault, Pierre-Luc, "Aristotle's Account of Time: A Moderate Realism" (2020). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7514. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7514 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract This dissertation proposes an interpretation of Aristotle’s theory of time as a whole from a study of Physics IV. 10-14. It addresses interpretive issues and objections pertaining to Aristotle’s view about the nature of time, its existence, as well as its unity and universality. In response to these problems, the interpretation of some ancient and medieval commentators – Themistius, Simplicius, Philoponus, Albert the Great and in particular, Thomas Aquinas – is by and large defended against recent interpretations. It is argued that by defining time as “the number of movement with respect to the “before” and “after” (Phys. IV. 11, 219b1-2), Aristotle means that time is the number of quantitative parts of motion counted by successive instants, and that he defines time in this way because it is perceived by numbering motion which respect to succession. It is also argued that on Aristotle’s account, there is one time because it is the quantity of a first motion in nature, and that time is universal because by this motion, it measures the existence of mobile beings located anywhere. Furthermore, it is argued that according to Aristotle, time exists objectively as it depends upon motion for its existence, although it depends upon the mind to exist perfectly, as an actualized quantity. On the whole, this thesis shows forth that the main interest and significance of Aristotle’s conception of time is to exhibit the relation of time with, on the one hand, natural beings, motion, nature and matter, and, on the other hand, its relation with the mind. Keywords: Aristotle, Natural Philosophy, Time, Instant, Simultaneity, Motion, Nature, Matter, Number, Continuous, Realism. ii Summary for Lay Audience My dissertation is a comprehensive study of Aristotle’s conception of time, which this philosopher expounds in Physics IV. 10-14. Three fundamental questions arise concerning time: What is it? Why is it universal and one? Does it exist, and if so, how? The dissertation discusses how Aristotle answers these questions, addressing interpretive problems and objections related to his theory. On the whole, my thesis shows forth that the main interest and significance of Aristotle’s conception of time is to exhibit the relation of time with, on the one hand, natural beings, motion, nature and matter, and, on the other hand, its relation with the mind. iii Acknowledgments My thanks for the accomplishment of this thesis go in the first place “to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Eph. 3, 20).” Moreover, I thank my supervisor, Prof. John Thorp, for his constant encouragement, his availability and wise guidance at the important steps of this project. I also thank Yvan Pelletier and Warren Murray, retired professors of Université Laval, to whom I owe my reverence for Aristotle and my approach to study his thought. I would like to dedicate this thesis to them. Finally, I want to thank my parents and sister for their support, as well as people and friends who have taken interest in my studies, encouraged me and even prayed for me. iv Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... ii Summary for Lay Audience ......................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... v Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Preliminaries ............................................................................................... 7 Part I: The Place of the Inquiry of Time in the Physics ............................................ 7 Part II: Preliminary Notions of Natural Philosophy................................................ 10 Nature .................................................................................................................. 10 Change ................................................................................................................ 12 Divisions of Change ............................................................................................ 17 Absolute vs. Relative ...................................................................................... 17 Species of Change ........................................................................................... 17 Subdivisions of Species .................................................................................. 19 Motion vs. Change .............................................................................................. 20 Priority of Locomotion ....................................................................................... 21 Rest ..................................................................................................................... 22 Prime Mover ....................................................................................................... 23 First Motion ........................................................................................................ 25 v The First Motion Is a Circular Movement ...................................................... 26 The Designation of the First Motion ............................................................... 27 Part III: Quantity, Number, Measure ...................................................................... 29 Quantity ............................................................................................................... 29 Definition ........................................................................................................ 29 Quantity by Essence vs. Quantity by Accident ............................................... 30 Movement is a Quantity .................................................................................. 31 Continuous & Discrete Quantities .................................................................. 32 Quantities With Vs. Without Position ............................................................ 34 Abstract and Concrete Quantity ...................................................................... 35 Number ............................................................................................................... 37 Definition ........................................................................................................ 37 Concrete Number vs. Abstract Number .......................................................... 38 The Notion of ‘Same Number’ ....................................................................... 40 Measure ............................................................................................................... 42 The Measure is a ‘One’ ................................................................................... 43 Absolute vs. Relative Measure ....................................................................... 44 Homogeneity of the Measure .......................................................................... 44 ‘Intrinsic’ Measure vs. ‘Extrinsic Measure’ ................................................... 45 Part IV: Time: Dialectical Inquiry .......................................................................... 45 vi Dialectic: a Fitting Method to Begin the Inquiry ................................................ 46 A Mysterious Existence ...................................................................................... 48 An Obscure Nature ............................................................................................. 51 A Most Probable Idea: Time is Something of Motion ........................................ 53 Chapter 2: The Nature of Time ................................................................................... 58 Part I: The Definition of Time ................................................................................ 59 An Epistemological Problem .............................................................................. 59 Defining Time ..................................................................................................... 63 Time is ‘Something’ of Movement ................................................................. 63 Time is Something of Movement with
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