Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens

Commenting on the end of Aristotle On the Heavens Book 3, Simplicius examines Aristotle's criticisms of Plato's theory of elemental chemistry in the Timaeus. Plato makes the characteristics of the four elements depend on the shapes of component corpuscles and ultimately on the arrangement of the triangles which compose them. Simplicius preserves and criticises the contributions made to the debate in lost works by two other major commentators, Alexander the Aristotelian, and Proclus the Platonist. In Book 4, Simplicius identifies fifteen objections by Aristotle to Plato's views on weight in the four elements. He finishes Book 4 by elaborating Aristotle's criticisms of Democritus' theory of weight in the atoms, including Democritus' suggestions about the influence of atomic shape on certain atomic motions.

Ian Mueller is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Chicago.

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Abbreviations	p. viii
Introduction	p. 1
Translation	p. 25
305b28-end. Criticism of Plato's geometrical chemistry	p. 27
Criticism of Plato's geometrical chemistry continued	p. 42
Absolute and relative heaviness and lightness; criticism of Plato's claim that there is no above and below in the universe	p. 67
Criticism of previous accounts of heaviness and lightness	p. 74
Heaviness and lightness; natural motion as the attaining of form	p. 88
The existence of places between above and below and of elements, water and air, to occupy them	p. 102
The four elements differ in their matter	p. 114
The effect of shape and size on the motion of bodies	p. 127
On the geometric arguments of 652,9-655,27	p. 131
On some later discussions of 306b5-8	p. 136
Textual Questions	p. 147
Departures from Heiberg's text	p. 147
Simplicius' citations of On the Heaven 3.1-7, 305b28	p. 148
Simplicius' citations of other texts	p. 148
Lemmas	p. 149
Notes	p. 151
Bibliography	p. 169
English-Greek Glossary	p. 173
Greek-English Index	p. 183
Index of Passages	p. 207
Index of Names	p. 209
Subject Index	p. 213
Addenda	p. 215
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Simplicius: On Aristotle On the Heavens 3.7-4.6

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