Abstract (may include machine translation)
In this paper I argue that the evidence we have about Alexander of Aphrodisias’ theory of celestial spheres and the motions these ensouled entities perform, it is almost certain that he introduced only a single separate unmoved mover, which is the object of desire for the souls of the spheres. Interestingly, we do not seem to have a straightforward discussion of this issue. Most importantly, the commentary on Aristotle’s Met. L 8 — the chapter where Aristotle broaches the issues of celestial movers in great detail — is not genuine, and the testimonies preserved in Arabic translation in Averroes’ Long Commentary on the Metaphysics do not report on this issue1. Consequently, I will need to collect and assess information in a piecemeal manner: in the first section of the paper from works by, or purportedly by Alexander, among them from the treatise De principiis, extant in Arabic translation, and in the second section from testimonies about, and quotes from Alexander in Simplicius’ commentaries.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Nature et Sagesse |
Subtitle of host publication | les rapports entre physique et métaphysique dans la tradition aristotélicienne : recueil de textes en hommage á Pierre Pellegrin |
Editors | Cristina Cerami |
Place of Publication | Leuven |
Publisher | Peeters Publishers |
Pages | 387-416 |
Number of pages | 30 |
ISBN (Print) | 9789042930063 |
State | Published - 2015 |